Caught Up In The Grey
by SemblanceOfInvisibility
Summary: He was way in over his head and, like the rest of them, didn't know it while she was a disciplined military woman. Times were changing, the world was changing, and they, together, were caught up in it. But there were still a few others who were out to right past wrongs and bring back what - or who - is gone. Sometimes, it seems, the right fight is fought for all the wrong reasons.
1. Chapter 1

_**December 30th  
City Of Atlas; Atlas  
Downtown**_

Cold. The wind bites her ears and every other part of her not covered by her uniform and coat. Though some would be bothered by this, she is not one of them. As she walks, the freshly laid snow crunches some beneath her boots. Her report had gone well; There were only minor surprises in what she found to be causes leading up to the fall of Beacon Academy. She was aware that General Ironwood was now concerned about the threat of war and, in all honesty, she could hardly blame him. Many people blamed the kingdom of Atlas directly for what happened to Vale, never mind all the evidence to suggest otherwise. Of course, that didn't mean some members of the council weren't grasping at straws for a fight. Regardless, as Glynda had reminded the council earlier, the woman behind all of it, or at least the woman who had been pulling the strings, was now vanished but the scars she had left were there to haunt. Looking at her familiar surroundings with a sigh, another car began to pass by but then it stopped unexpectedly on the curb next to her. Placing her hand on her sword, she prepared herself to fight if need be. Quickly, the window rolled down and the man inside leaned over to poke his head out of it.

"Hey, Ice Queen, you lost or something?" Qrow asked her with an infuriating grin. "Because I -"

"If you think this is the best way to pick up women, then I can assure you that it's not." Hostility edged her voice; The last thing she wanted to deal with right now was him, especially given that she was stopping by the manor to see Weiss. Not to mention the fact that he had been one of the people at the forefront of her thoughts of late. A faint attraction for him spread through her, but she shook it off quickly as she maintained her indifferent composure.

"Okay, listen, Winter," Qrow attempted to act serious though his face betrayed him. "I know we're not great friends or anything, but I'm trying to help you out."

"The last time we saw each other, you destroyed Atlas military property and then coerced me into a fight -"

"Nah, you chose to fight me."

"Did not!" Winter declared indignantly. "And I'll have you know that I was lucky that I was able to convince General Ironwood to let me off for that! I could have been in serious trouble because of you!"

Qrow scoffed as he looked at her. "Jimmy only let you off because you are ridiculously loyal to -"

"I'm starting to feel the need to make good on my threat to remove your tongue." Winter remarked dryly as she cut him off.

"Where are you headed?" Qrow asked, desperately trying to change the subject.

"Doesn't matter."

"Ice Queen, you may act as if your heart is made of ice but it will actually be made of ice if you stay out here much longer like this. Lemme give you a ride. I swear I won't try anything funny." This time, she could tell that he was serious and she grudgingly gave out a sigh of agreement.

"Fine," She said as she got in the car. "But I swear Branwen, if you try anything I'll kill you."

"Wouldn't dream of dying today," Pulling away from the curb, Qrow turned to look at her just a little. "So, where are you headed?"

"The manor, I was going to see Weiss and then go back to my apartment downtown." Her reply was short and to the point, while she crossed her arms and tried to avoid confrontation. Now, of all times, was not a good time for her to get into a fight. Of all the people capable of provoking her, he was towards the top of the list.

"Isn't your father going to be there?" Qrow's voice had taken an uncharacteristically soft edge to it, something that she hadn't been expecting.

"What does it matter?"

"Why don't you explain that scar then?" Glancing at a spot just under her left cheek that had a faintly visible line, Qrow sighed. "I mean -"

"I was twenty-one and had just joined the military. My father got angry at me for my choice and slapped me when I brought up what Weiss and I heard him say to our mother through the door of his study just a few weeks before on Weiss's tenth birthday. The ring hit my cheek and it didn't quite heal right." Trying to stop the heavy anger that was bubbling beneath the surface, Winter took to brushing her bangs to steady her hands.

"And you still go back to that place?" Bewilderment and slight awe laced his voice. "Why?"

"Because, like it or not, my family is my family. Things aren't just black and white, especially not for us." Her tone was schooled and devoid of the heavy emotions that lay beneath it. "What is it to you?"

"Nothing," He responded far too quickly, causing her eyebrows to raise. "Okay, so maybe I care about you just a little. But it's only a little. Don't get the wrong idea."

"It better be just a little," Winter muttered as he pulled up onto the Schnee's long, winding driveway. "Thanks for the ride."

"I'll wait for you." Qrow promised as she got out. "It's not exactly a short walk back to the city."

"Branwen, I swear to -"

"Like I said, just trying to help you out."

"Fine," Winter responded with a harsh glare, masking her true emotions with her safe fall back. Anger. "I'll be back in an hour."

"I can wait."

As she slammed the door and stalked off into the manor, Qrow couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was despite her surface loathing of him. It was true that she had a tendency to get on his nerves with her burying herself in her work and her common hiding of whatever she may be feeling. At the same time, it was also true that he thought she was strong, fierce, beautiful, and much deeper than she was content with having the world believe. There were a few scarce moments that he could remember himself having real feelings for her that felt returned, but then he recalled moments like when they tore apart Beacon's courtyard - and that was just scratching the surface of the fights they'd had in the last few years. Thinking of Beacon pulled him back down from his thoughts of her; It sobered him to remember the state of the academy after Fall was done with it. Ozpin was dead, the academy in disrepair, James and Glynda flipping out... not that he didn't know that their flipping out involved more than just what happened to Beacon or even Ozpin. Despite his dislike of the man, Qrow admitted that he was glad that Glynda and James were happy. Seeing them come late to the meeting with Pyrrha Nikos, another name that caused his heart to drop, so obviously because they had lost track of time while alone was something that hit him harder than he cared to admit. He wanted something like that in his life even though he knew that their relationship wasn't always easy.

It didn't have to be easy, though. He wanted something real.


	2. Chapter 2

_**January 3rd  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas; Atlas  
Uptown  
**_  
Numb. All he could he feel, everything about him. It was all numb. He was on his second or third round of shots and, as he looked around the bar, all he could do was frown. After he had dropped off Winter Schnee at her apartment complex back on the thirtieth, he was overcome with a sense of missing something as he drove away. At first he had written it off to missing his nieces, after all, he wasn't quite sure what was going on with them. That sense quickly morphed into anger, and he wrote that off to his earlier conversation with James and Glynda. As it got later though, and as the alcohol from the day had started to wear off, he found himself fantasizing what it would be like snog Winter. In spite of all of his affairs with countless women, Winter stood out in his mind as the kind of woman who would be difficult for him to deal with but one that he could have something real with.

Not that he was expecting that to happen.

"So, the dusty old crow ends up in a bar once again," The all-too familiar voice said as she sat down next to him. "Well, I'll have you know that I wouldn't mind a shot or two right now."

Qrow pushed one over to her and she took it down surprisingly well. "What are you doing here?"

"General Ironwood sent me to find you and -"

"Well tell Jimmy that I ain't doing anything -"

"Can you shut up and listen? He and Glynda need to talk to you about something to do with Ozpin."

"I'm shocked he hasn't told you what it is himself. He already turned his back on -"

Winter downed another several set of shots. "Qrow -"

"Seriously, James is a -"

Taking another one, Winter felt her voice raise in spite of herself. " _Qrow Branwen_!"

Qrow put his hands up in mock defeat. "All right, all right. I'll shut up. I'll go, but only because Glynda -"

A combination of disgust and irrational jealousy came through her. "If you make one sexual comment -"

"I'm not at all attracted to her, gross. Glynda terrifies me, if I'm being honest. Look, Ice Queen, you may accuse me of having a dirty mind, but believe me when I say that I have never wanted to be involved with Glynda Goodwitch." Qrow took down another shot before sighing. "Come on."

"Well then who are you attracted to?" Winter asked, genuine curiosity laced in her voice.

Qrow laughed before he looked at her seriously. "You really want to know the answer to that?"

Winter raised an eyebrow before laughing herself. "Do you honestly think that I'd ask that question if I didn't want to know the answer?"

"Of course you wouldn't but it makes sense with someone… well with someone like you to ask." Qrow shook his head as she got up with him. "I've liked a lot of women, I've been with a lot of women… but there is only one woman that I actually am attracted to."

"And who is that?" Winter asked as she opened the door to the car on her side while Qrow got in on his own.

"I don't think you'll like it…" He said as the car started but he leaned back and turned to look at her regardless. "I may not always find you to be easy to deal with, Ice Queen, but I am attracted to you."

With a sharp intake of breath, Winter was silent for several minutes before she cut the ignition in front of the government offices of the Atlesian council. "Are you joking?"

"Of course not," Qrow said, disappointed that she didn't believe him. "I -"

Impulsively and, likely in part due to the alcohol, Winter leaned over and kissed him. It was quick; Only a few seconds of their lips just more than brushing. Her blue eyes went wider than he could have thought possible as she pulled back and confliction crossed her face; Questions in regards to what she was doing written all across it. Confusion swept across his own as he tried to comprehend what they had both just did. Attempting to remind himself that it was little more than a brush, he tried to shake off the lingering feeling of energy on his lips that was slowly spreading all through him. Briskly opening the door and swinging her legs onto the pavement, Winter tried to neutralize herself but was struggling even as they walked into the meeting room where Glynda and James were waiting.

"Qrow," Glynda narrowed her eyes at his appearance. Turning to Winter, she sighed and crossed her arms with her crop still in hand. "Where did you find him?"  
Winter hesitated before a serious look from both Glynda and General Ironwood prompted her to go ahead. "He was at a bar; I'm not sure how long he -"

"I was there for a few hours at least," Qrow shrugged in spite of the glares he was getting from both the General and Glynda. "What? Neither of you should be surprised."

"Why is it that you can't take anything seriously for more than a few minutes?" Glynda snapped at him, her patience breaking though it wasn't as if she had much to begin with. "It's almost as if -"

"Glynda, calm down." Qrow put his hands up before looking briefly at Winter. "Just be glad that she dragged me out of there."

Looking over to Winter before she turned back to Qrow, Glynda took in the younger woman's appearance. "Qrow, listen to me. You know full well that now that Oz is -"

"You seem to be forgetting that Oz can -"

"If Oz reincarnated, don't you think we'd know about it by now?"

"Oh come on. Glynda, Oz is smart. He wouldn't tell anyone that he was back unless he -"

"Glynda's right, Qrow. If Oz was back he would have found a way to let us know by now." Ironwood sighed as he looked to Winter. "Dismissed, Schnee."

As Winter left, she had more questions than answers. Ozpin reincarnates? Not only that, but what had she done. And why did she want to kiss Qrow again?


	3. Chapter 3

_**January 6th  
City Of Atlas; Atlas  
7:30 PM  
**_  
Looking over the reports sent over to her scroll by General Ironwood, Winter couldn't help it when she found her mind wandering. Most of her analysis was done, she just had to send it off, but it wasn't going along smoothly. Her thoughts kept going back to Qrow. It was starting to get a little annoying, actually, the amount of times his face had come into her thoughts. Over and over she'd be working on something or talking to Weiss and suddenly she found herself remembering the hazzy kiss she had with him. Cursing the alcohol at first for her impulsiveness, Winter passed it off to curiosity. She hadn't been in very many relationships before, and all of them had ended in disaster. Sometimes it was because she was a Schnee, other times it was because people found her to difficult to open to, and the most common offense was that she buried herself in her work to try and avoid feeling too much.

She had spent years doing this, whether it was training when she was younger or her actual duties in the military as she had gotten older. Her childhood had not been easy in the slightest although, when she really thought about it, she knew that Weiss had had it worse. Being eleven years older than her sister, she hadn't been able to help herself but feel as if she was being replaced the moment she found out that her mother was pregnant. Eleven years, and the then thirty-three year old Willow Schnee and her husband had decided to have another child. That anger slowly melted away as Winter forced herself to spend more time with Weiss and it eventually turned from only sisterly love to genuine understanding and a desire to protect. When she was fifteen, her parents had Whitley, and she knew by that point that it wasn't an accident.

Even though Weiss was only four years old, their father had already decided that he wanted somebody to replace her. It made her angry just thinking about it and, as she clenched her fists and examined the faint, crescent shaped marks on her palms, she tried to ground herself. Weiss was still only seventeen and, until her eighteenth birthday in November, she had no way to leave their parent's custody. Though, in fairness to their mother, this wasn't her fault. Actually, if Winter forced herself to set aside the resentment she still had towards her parents, nothing that had happened to her or her children was really Willow's fault.

Her marriage had been arranged and Jacques had convinced her for twenty-one years, two months and a few days that he loved her. She had know for a long time, or at least suspected, that her parent's marriage was not built on love. At least not on both sides, if one wanted to be technical. Things hadn't been great, but it was shitty luck that Winter and Weiss remembered the younger girl's tenth birthday all too well. The two sisters had gone looking for their mother after she had been gone for a while and  
overheard their parents arguing loudly in Jacques's study.

" _She's your daughter, at least see her for a few minutes!"  
_  
" _Willow -"  
_  
" _You love her, don't you? I've heard what Winter says and I don't believe it! She keeps insisting that we don't care about her - is the only person you love me?"  
_  
" _Sometimes you are incredibly naive, aren't you Willow?"  
_  
" _What are you talking about? You're acting like a complete -"  
_  
" _Willow, I don't know how you couldn't tell but while I may be… somewhat attracted to you, I don't love you and, even if I did, love is not the reason I married you."  
_  
" _Jacques, what are you saying?"  
_  
" _I mean that the only reason I married you was because of the Schnee family name and its fortune."  
_  
" _No… no… no. You can't be -"  
_  
" _Willow, you -"  
_  
Feeling slightly clammy, Winter sat down for a brief moment at the small bar attached to her kitchen peninsula. It wasn't long before she was back on her feet, reminded of yesterday. The bar. Qrow. Shaking her feelings aside, she pulled her scroll out again to read reports. Her feelings still persisted; Childhood memories, her drive to protect Weiss and teach her how to defend herself, the losses she shared with her sister. She wasn't about to deny that she felt attracted to Qrow, but she was afraid even though she would deny that vehemently. Things went horribly wrong with her own parents and their lives, so why would her own be any different? Yes, she wasn't her mother who let her emotions guide her, but at the same time she was afraid of letting people in. Maybe that was why people assumed she was not much more than a cold hearted ice queen who cared about three things and three things only: Her work, herself, and her sister.

A slightly urgent knock on the door tore her away from her thoughts. Shutting down her scroll and putting it away as the knocks continued, she tried to not let her annoyance get the best of her. It was reasonably late, so she couldn't imagine it being anyone from work. She didn't have very many friends left, making the chances of that slim. If it was Weiss, well she imagined that her sister would have called to tell her she was coming by and the same could be said of her parents. As she opened the door, her annoyance melted away to surprise when she realized that it was only Qrow.

Of course it was.

"Hey...Winter…" Slightly nervous, Qrow followed her into the apartment and he had to admit that the place was pretty nice. "So… there's something we need to talk about."

"What might that be?" She asked, her heart racing. "It's not as if we're particularly close."

"Winter, really, if we weren't reasonably close do you think you would have kissed me?" Qrow leaned against the counter and, to her surprise, didn't even pull out a drink.

"I was drunk, Qrow." She said, though she knew that wasn't entirely true.

"You didn't have that many shots," He pointed out to her with a shrug. "Although I suppose that was probably more alcohol than you've ever had in your entire life."

"You act as if I've never drank before." Winter stated as she crossed her arms. She wasn't in her uniform; Instead she was wearing a comfortable long-sleeved grey sweater that went off her shoulders paired with white leather pants. It was rare that he had seen her out of uniform, and he was finding himself thinking about how attractive she looked in her civilian clothes. "Quit staring at me." She snapped.

"Sorry, sorry," Qrow said as he shifted his gaze around her apartment. "It's just, you look great."

"Thank you, Qrow." Her voice was as polished as ever and even he knew that she was trying to keep it emotionless.

"Look, we both admit that we're attracted to each other, right?" Qrow started, trying to give them an easy bridge.

"Yes," Winter's reply was short but completely genuine.

"If I asked you out on a date, how would you feel about it?" He felt nervous asking that one, if it was the wrong thing he could imagine her slapping him. She didn't though, she instead sighed.

"I would want to say yes… but at the same time I wouldn't exactly say that I'm cut out to be in a relationship," Rubbing her arm in slight embarrassment, Winter forced herself to look at him.

Both confusion and concern passed through his expression. "What does that mean? Please don't tell me that for some reason -"

"It has nothing to do with my job," Winter snapped, though upon his hurt expression she softened her tone. "Qrow, do you have any idea how I was raised?"

"Isn't your father the world's greatest jackass?" He was smirking a little, but let it fall off his face when he realized that she was being serious. "Sorry, I know you don't like to talk about your family."

Remembering the last time they had tried to have an actual conversation a few months prior, Winter fought back tears as she recalled mentioning to him how awful and convoluted her parents marriage had turned out to be. She tried to remind herself that the only reason she had told him that was because he had started by telling her a little bit about his sister. It was no good though, because a few tears rolled off of her cheeks in spite of her best efforts. Noticing her tears, Qrow took a risk and placed a hand on her shoulder that she didn't immediately push away.

"Winter, if I had to bet...I'd say you have every reason to want to avoid a relationship. I get it. But… if you give me a chance, I'll try and do what I can to be right for you… even if I know that things may not end well."

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked as she wiped the tears off of her cheeks, feeling childish.

"Have I ever told you about my semblance?" The look of confusion on her face said it all. "Basically… my semblance means that I bring bad luck for people I care about wherever I go."

"Qrow -"

"Listen, I'm willing to try to be something with you if you are willing to try and be something with me," Qrow looked at her seriously as he cupped her cheek which, surprising he once again, she didn't push away. "But if something happens to you and it's my fault… I'll have to go."

Deciding to take that risk, Winter brought her lips down on his as she had just three days prior but allowed herself to put more passion into it. He didn't fight her in the slightest, instead he only tried to bring her closer as they continued to snog. It wasn't until she was feeling out of breath that she broke the kiss and wrapped her arms around him. She was questioning everything she had just done as he was himself but, in the moment, they both chose not to care.

"Why don't you stay here for a few hours and we can watch a film?" She suggested, moving over into her living room as he followed. "Just don't try anything funny, okay?"

"I'm not really one to push my luck for anything," He told her as he relaxed into the couch while she put in a DVD and pressed play before curling up next to him.  
 _  
I have no idea what I'm doing, am I? We don't even know each other that well...although I suppose this is where we start. I try to understand him and he tries to understand me. Complicated, I guess._


	4. Chapter 4

_**January 7th**_  
 _ **City Of Atlas; Atlas**_  
 _ **1:30 PM**_

"Qrow…" Winter half-glared at the man as he leaned against the doorway. "Now really isn't a good time."

"How come?" He asked with a smirk. "Too much work?"

"It...it's not that." She admitted, feeling nervous that he might ask the next question. "Just...please let me deal with this right now."

"Are you sure I can't help?" Qrow's smirk melted off his face into serious concern. "Did something happen?"

"Not anything that concerns you," She informed him, trying to not let her emotions get the best of her.

"Well then -"

"My sister is here right now, and I'm trying to -"

"I get it," He said, taking her hands in his. "Do you want me to come back later?"

Winter sighed, her hair was falling out of her usually well-kept bun and her bangs needed to brushed aside better. For now, she opted to do so with her fingers but knew that it wouldn't do much for long. "Give me an hour or two and then we can have some time together, okay?"

"That's fair," Pulling her into an awkward embrace before leaving, Qrow tried to comfort her.

They had spent most the past evening talking; He had explained some of his family and she had done the best she could to explain hers. It was a struggle, he knew, for her to open up to him in the way that she had but at the same time it wasn't necessarily easy for him to talk about Raven and the tribe or to remember Summer Rose. The eight years between them had been much more noticeable than they had been expecting just from having a reasonably long conversation; They were at the same level as a huntsman and huntress but they had seen different things. She was less aware of some of the finer details of the other kingdoms than he was because most of her work stayed in Atlas, usually going to Vale on occasion if for some reason she was needed there. On the other hand, he had seen some of the crazier aspects of the world. Small villages with shady people for less than respectable jobs and dangerous psychopaths were part of his speciality. He had chosen to leave out some of the aspects of what had happened to him because of his semblance; That run in with a pyromaniac a few years before that he should have died from. The only reason he survived was because of his ability to turn into an actual crow.

He had left that part out too. Whether or not James had told her about the maidens, Salem, and whatnot, he didn't want to risk anything. Besides, he had the feeling that if she knew about that particular ability that she would have brought it up. Restraining herself when it came to asking questions didn't seem easy and he could imagine that whatever the reason Weiss was there could not be good. Something must have happened or, if it hadn't already, was going to. The fact that he knew anything about her father increased his concern.

After all, the man wasn't known for being especially understanding or sympathetic.

Back in her apartment, Winter leaned against the counter while she let Weiss cry. Mother wasn't doing any better and, according to Whitley, she might be getting worse. She had home less than three weeks and, as Weiss perceived it, things were much worse than they were before she had left. Their parents were still fighting on what seemed to be nearly a daily basis and they ended poorly, as expected. Winter had been around for some of these, whether she was trying to be less estranged from her parents of if she was conveying a message to their father from General Ironwood. Either way, if Weiss was crying about how much worse things had gotten, things were not looking up.

"I...I had to…" Weiss trailed off again as she tried to make herself stop crying to no avail. "Klein was able to...to get me out of the...the house long enough...to come and...see you...because...because I...I came to talk to...to mother...and she...she...her hand was bleeding and…"

"Weiss," Winter came over to her sister and pulled her into a hug while letting the younger girl cry into her. "You don't have to spell the next part out for me, I know."

"Why does she keep doing it? I...I thought that things had changed…" Stopping her thoughts as she continued to cry, Weiss reminded herself that it was only Winter and that she wasn't angry with her.

"Mother has been cutting herself for a few years, Weiss, and we both know it. You were fifteen when it started and -"

"I know that!" Weiss snapped through fresh tears. "But it...it doesn't make it any better! She...she, she's been drinking more and...and father doesn't even seem to care!"

"Weiss...shh...shh, I know. It's not easy for you, it's not easy for any of us. I -" Angrily sighing as she heard a knock at the door, she remembered Qrow. "Weiss, listen to me," She said as she helped her sister up. "I have a...date with someone and I need you to go home. Send me a message if you need me. Okay?"

The younger Schnee nodded while she tried to look less like she had been crying. She knew that when she got home that her father was going to be less than pleased that she left, especially when he realized that she had been with Winter. She was about to leave when she saw who her sister was talking to. Qrow. Ruby's uncle. Sadness came back to her once again; Remembering any of her teammates was hard but Ruby was the hardest. She wasn't sure why but, around the time their second semester at Beacon started, Weiss had begun to feel a little bit attracted to the red-headed girl. She had never acted on any of those feelings but that didn't mean that they weren't there. The worst part about it was the fact that Ruby might never know and that she would never know if the younger girl felt anything towards her. Still, it was odd seeing her sister with Qrow in a context that wasn't followed by fighting. Shaking her thoughts aside, Weiss took one last glance at her sister before getting into the car and heading back to the manor.

Slamming the door behind them, Winter sent Qrow a sharp glare before letting it slide off her face. "Qrow -"

"You said an hour or two and it's been two hours," He said, showing her the time on his scroll, much to her annoyance.

"Yes but -"

"Winter, are you sure you're okay?" Qrow moved closer to her and, though she tensed at first, she slowly relaxed. "Really, is something -"

"My family is very complicated Qrow and Weiss is struggling to deal with some of the aspects of that specifically related to our mother." Winter said, trying not to dwell on it too  
long. "But I'd rather not go there right now."

He nodded. "Okay. So, what about us?"

"You want to go there?" She asked with half a smile. "Does this answer your question?" Winter kissed him before she wrapped her arms around him. "Well?"

"Yeah, it does." Qrow pulled her into him while he ran his fingers through her hair which was currently down. "Seriously though, are we actually in a relationship or are we -"

"I would say that we're in a relationship although it's only the very start. I have no idea where this will go and that does scare me a little." Winter sighed as she looked at him.

"Qrow, in most of the years we've known each other, all we've ever done is fight and I don't know how far this will get."

"I don't know either," He admitted. "But we're gonna try, right?"

"Of course we are!" She snapped, but softened her expression when she realized how that came off. "I'm sorry, Qrow, it's just difficult for me to be relinquishing some control over my life. I've never been in a real relationship before that has actually lasted."

"Winter," He started slowly in an attempt to show her that he cares. "I don't know what the other people you've been involved with were like, but they sound like dicks. I'm not going to do that to you, I promise. I don't want to hurt you. I've had an attraction to you for several years now, if I'm being honest."

"And yet you still provoked a fight between us that -"

"That was because I was beyond drunk and you know it." Qrow smirked a little as he recalled it. "You were the one who pointed it out first though. The best part, though, was Glynda's reaction. I'm not sure if she ever liked me very much, but I think that may have been the lowest point I've ever gotten with her. See, when I was at Beacon in my first year we had the Vytal festival and Glynda and her team were in their last year at Atlas. She and Jimmy were actually partners which is funny because now -"

"Qrow -"

"Sorry, sorry. Anyway, I'll admit that I hit on her a little and that she slapped me. It was funny that about five years later we were both working with Ozpin and she didn't remember me until I asked her if she 'liked what she saw'. That got me slapped a second time. Basically, I'm a little afraid of her."

"You're actually afraid of someone?" Winter incredulous; She knew that Glynda and Qrow were not fond of each other, but she didn't realize the history of it.

He laughed a little before elaborating. "She uses a riding crop as a weapon and her semblance is telekinesis. I'm pretty sure that everyone should be afraid of her, including James and they've been together for I don't even know how long but that thing with the elevator -"

"I don't need to nor want to hear this!" Winter declared as she prevented him from finishing that thought.

"Yeah, I guess that would probably haunt you for the rest of your life." He paused for a minute before letting her go. " So, what are we doing tonight?"

"Another film and talking," She told him as she tried, in vain, to make her hair less of a mess. "Don't try anything."

"Believe me," Qrow said as he leaned into the couch. "With you especially I don't want to."


	5. Chapter 5

_**January 9th  
City Of Atlas; Atlas  
Downtown  
**_  
"What time did you tell Qrow he needed to be downstairs?" Glynda asked as she continued to look for her scroll. "Damn it, where did I -"

"Right here," James tossed her scroll to her and she caught it but not without a glare. "It should be about an hour from now, but I'm not sure if he'll be there."

"Of course," Glynda rolled her eyes, knowing that Qrow was already less than thrilled that James was still involved.

"It's alright, really," Coming over to her and wrapping his arms around her waist, he tried to get her to relax. "Besides, since we've got time -"

"Shut up," She said, pulling him down into a kiss. "I don't need to hear it."

He smiled as he brought her in to him close. "We really are each other's best distraction, aren't we?"

"Three words," Glynda said with a smirk. "'Sorry we're late'."

"I remember that," James kissed her forehead while she leaned further into their embrace. "Do you think Oz ever figured it out?"

"I hope not!" She exclaimed though she was half laughing. "But I wouldn't be surprised if Qrow had said something to him about why that was the case."

"It was my fault and -"

"Damn right it was! I told you we were going to be late, but you convinced me that it was okay and then we ended up almost -"

"In the elevator -"

"We almost got caught -"

"But we didn't," He reminded her with another kiss. "Princess, it was fine."

"I know," She admitted, sliding her scroll into her skirt pocket. "But we should probably head down."

He looked at the time for a brief moment before he nodded. "You're right."

Taking her hand, the two of them locked up the apartment before heading down the corridor into the elevator. They were on the twenty-second floor and, though they both agreed that they should know better, it wasn't long before she was wrapping her arms around him and was bringing him towards her into a passionate, enveloping kiss. Lifting her up while continuing to kiss her, he was relieved to be getting to be alone with her. She wrapped her legs around him as well and his arms tightened around her. It wasn't easy - her heels gave her three inches and in them there was only an inch of height difference between them. Still, they managed it and she tried to in vain figure out why she had pushed him away all those years ago. They were both thirty-nine and had been partners while at Atlas Academy but they had taken different paths and she, now, admitted that she had been afraid. They had kept contact though they hadn't been as close as they had been. They both rose in their careers and, while they had seen each other before them, it wasn't until he came to Beacon that she realized that she still loved him.

Though she had made every effort to ignore the fact, she gave up by the time the dance had come around. That had been one of the best nights she had had in a long time; Both of them had forgotten how good it felt to be in each other's arms. Though neither were willing to admit it, they had met up after everything was sorted out with the dance and what Ruby Rose had seen at the top of Beacon Tower. She had pulled him off to her apartment in Vale and, by the end of the night, she had found out that he hadn't stopped caring about her. Once they both admitted that they still had feelings for each other, they had ended up in bed although that didn't negate the fact that they continued to keep their relationship a secret. That was, until she came to Atlas after the fall and they both publicly admitted to being in a relationship. Their dance while at Beacon Academy was one of her favourite moments and it was certainly one of her happiest.

 _Though she had not wanted to acknowledge it at first, she decided it was best not lie to herself anymore. Taking his hand, not without some of her natural sass, she let herself lean into him in spite of herself. Her cape fluttered softly behind her as she spun and she let herself fall back into the memories from when the two of them were in Atlas Academy. They had been made partners during initiation and, despite the lack of patience that characterized the two of them, though it wasn't always the easiest pairing they somehow managed to work it out. Towards the end of their second year, he admitted that he loved her and, by the time their third year started, she eventually did the same. One of her favourite moments during their fourth year was when the two of them found a rare moment away from their teammates and the two of them found themselves in each other's arms. That feeling came back as they moved together over twenty years on._

 _"Glynda -"_

 _Unsure of why she was admitting it, she didn't stop herself from kissing him quickly before speaking. "I love you."_

 _"I know." James brought her closer with a sigh. "Glynda, you know that I still love you. I haven't stopped and -"_

 _She kissed him again, though this time with more passion. "Why did we decide to not even try to make things work?"_

 _"I don't know, Princess," James caressed her arms affectionately, using the endearment for her that he hadn't used in years. They may have remained close friends over the years, but their romance had ended when she went back to Vale, where she was from, and he remained in Atlas upon joining the military. "But I wish we hadn't."_

 _"I wish we hadn't either but we were so young and..." Shaking her head as she let him hold her, she tried not to let her emotions get too far ahead of her. "Do you really still want me? After all this time? I know that -"_

 _Before she could finish, he brought his lips down on hers in a fervent kiss that eventually bridged into something a little more. "Of course I still want you, Glynda, I love you."_

 _"I want you too," She admitted quietly. "I'm a little scared of where this may go but...but I want to try. I really do love you, James, and -"_

 _"Then let's try again."_

 _"There's just one thing I need you to do."_

 _"What's that?"_

 _"Promise me that you aren't going to leave me again." Glynda's voice was unusually soft but it was clear at the same time._

 _James gave her a light squeeze of affection. "Of course I won't leave you again - you mean too much to me."_

She had to admit that her fears still stood to some extent even now, but she wasn't going to let them make the same mistake that she had made the last time they had been in a romantic relationship. Whether or not anyone else quite understood the complicated past she had with James, she knew that while they were both taking warnings from their past that they weren't letting themselves be dominated by it. There was only one thing that made her wish that they hadn't done things in the way they did and it was the accident she had been in three years ago. She had always known that, due to a hormonal imbalance which had led to her ridiculous height of 6'2'' even without heels amongst other things, her ability to have children was in a perpetual balance. After the accident in the southeast during in an investigation, that became no longer even a possibility. If she had been able to have another chance, she admitted that she only regretted being unable to have a child with the one person she truly loved. Before she had told him, she had been scared that he wouldn't understand but he did. He promised her that he was just happy to have her and they both knew that he meant it.

Dealing with each other had had its ups and downs in recent years but, as they grew closer once again, things started to become easier. Yes, they argued sometimes for no apparent reason and sometimes they were both so impatient that a fight was instigated in that way but in the end they managed to work things out. Every moment that they had alone, every second that they spent in each other's embrace, all of them only reminded them of the love they felt towards the other even if it wasn't necessarily easy. Some of the most affectionate moments between them were the silent or near silent ones; She'd sometimes wake up to his hands playing with her pale blonde waves or sometimes she'd find an excuse to curl into him.

"I love you, Princess." James promised her as he brought her closer.

"I love you too…" Glynda leaned her head onto his shoulder - still coiled tightly around him - just as the doors opened without them paying enough attention to notice right away.

"Woah, okay then…" Qrow stared at the two of them in shock as the General put her down and she adjusted her glasses. "Well, I guess that confirms a few things...damn."

The immediate response that he got from her was a glare. "Qrow -"

"I don't need to or want to hear it, Glynda." Qrow shuddered in exaggeration to prove his point while she glared at him and took her crop in hand. "And please don't hurt me."

"I should," She snapped while she blushed, irritated by his smirk and the euphemism. "I really -"

"It's not worth it," James told her, giving her a squeeze before she could make an attempt at murder. "It's not."

"I know," She conceded as Winter came in.

"Good thing for me," Qrow muttered as he had some of his questionable alcohol. Noticing Winter, he tried to not think about their date the night before. "Why is she here?"

Winter scowled at him for a brief moment. "Why are you here, Branwen?"

"And you think this is a good idea?" Glynda asked James, her arms crossed. "I'll give it a few weeks before the reports come in that they've killed each other."

"Glynda -"

"Don't even, James, you know just as well as I do that -"

"That what?" Qrow asked, concern starting to come to him. "Well?"

"Schnee, you already know about the plans to scout the remains of Beacon Academy." James started, continuing when Winter nodded. "That's still going to happen, but there are some...more concerning reports coming in from Mistral. You're still going to be in Vale next week, but then you'll be in Mistral for the next several following that."

"Yes sir," Winter responded though she was nervous about Qrow's glare.

"How am I involved in this?" Qrow demanded, wanting to know why Glynda thought that he and Winter were going to kill each other.

"I can't give you orders, Qrow -"

"Damn right you can't," He growled, feeling annoyed at the fact that that needed saying. "I'm not one of your special operatives, Jimmy."

"General -" Winter corrected though she knew he didn't care.

"It doesn't matter. What -"

"Qrow, I was just going to _suggest_ that since you know Vale well that you go with for the first part of the mission." It was clear that James was trying not to get too annoyed with Qrow and he was not surprised by the response he got.

"I ain't going back to Beacon, you're crazy if you think I am. I am, on the other hand, going to go to Patch to check on my nieces." Qrow glared as he left, followed by Winter shortly after.

"Qrow!" She was half running after him and by the time he stopped she needed a minute to catch her breath. "Are -"

"Winter, if you think that I can bring myself to see what happened to Beacon again then you're just as crazy as James is for suggesting it." He sighed, pulling her into a quick hug. "Look, I'll be in contact but I've got to keep an eye on my nieces first and foremost. I promise, it won't be that long before I see you again."

"Qrow -"

"Winter, it's fine. We're still in a relationship but we both have to travel. It's in both of our job descriptions. Seriously, if I don't make contact with you in three weeks you can call Ironwood and ask to know where I am." Pulling her in for a second time, he tried to make this one linger. "It's not going to be long."

"It better not be, or I'm going to regret all of this." Winter muttered darkly as the two of them went separate ways for the time being.

Thing was, they weren't going to stay separate for all that long. Even if they didn't realize it.


	6. Chapter 6

_**January 21st  
Mistral  
6:45 AM  
**_  
Winter almost fainted when she saw an unconscious and clearly injured Qrow Branwen get brought off the airship. She kept her distance as the teenagers continued to move into their refuge with him, but she also found herself holding back from going after them. In the end, she gave into her curiosity and her concern for Qrow though that was not her only motivation. Seeing Ruby Rose was enough to pique her interest because she knew just as well as anyone else that if Weiss knew that Ruby was there that she would do something about it. Her sister had admitted shortly after her return to Atlas that she was attracted to Ruby but she also admitted that she didn't know what to do about those feelings. Compounded with their father's notion that she shouldn't be involved with a huntsman or a huntress, which Winter imagine would be an even more uncomfortable conversation, Weiss had kept her mouth shut about everything.

Shit really had hit the fan for Weiss recently, though, all things considered. Though tensions between the defunct kingdom of Mantle and the other major kingdoms of Remnant were high, there was still a demand for gossip and the Schnee family was a prime example of gossip-worthy material. The family had been under media scrutiny since the moment Jacques married Willow and as time had gone on and things had gotten more and more grey ethically speaking when it came to the Schnee Dust Company, that had only increased. Not only that but, once Winter joined the Atlesian military as a special operative, familial division became the prime target. The current scandal was about Weiss; During the SDC Charity Ball, she got angry at one of the women present and summoned a grimm that got set on her. The woman didn't get hurt but insisted on Weiss's arrest, which General Ironwood refused to do. Later, Winter found out that her father had removed Weiss's status as heiress and given it to Whitley. It was all convoluted and horrible, but acknowledging that wasn't going to change anything no matter how many people in Atlas had deduced that there was a correlation to what Weiss did and the removal of her status.

Carefully making her way into the building, Winter tried to maintain an appearance of calm. She wasn't quite sure what she and Qrow had; At the moment, she wanted to believe that he cared about her and that they were in the beginnings of a relationship but she also knew that their relationship was new for both of them and that the separation could have been the end. Her relief that he was still alive, though injured badly, was immense but she couldn't tell if that was because she had romantic feelings for him or because she was years past done with watching other people suffer. Recently that feeling had increased because her mother was currently hospitalized after a suicide attempt - Winter had gone to see her sister but when she checked in on her mother, the room had been eerily silent. It wasn't until she found her mother lying on the bathroom floor with a bottle of sleeping pills next to her that she screamed. Klein managed to get the paramedics fast enough to save Willow but things didn't look good, even now.

"Weiss?" Ruby's voice echoed in confusion in the corridor though it abated when Winter turned around. "Oh, sorry, Winter."

She knew that her civilian clothes were probably a little misleading but that didn't stop her from feeling a little annoyed. Still, she was relieved to see that Ruby was alright; If anything, that would be a comfort for Weiss. "Is Qrow alright?"

"Uh…" Ruby looked taken aback though the older woman couldn't blame her. "I mean, he's woken up...sort of. I...I, he seems a little confused but I think he'll be okay. That stinger was pretty bad because the venom -"

"Ruby, I know the last time Qrow and I -"

"You two kind of tore apart our courtyard…" The girl shrugged but smiled a little as she remembered it. "Are you here because -"

"I want to talk to him and," Off of Ruby's confused look, she sighed. "I promise I won't start any fights."

Ruby nodded and dragged the eldest Schnee down the hall and propped open the door, poking her head in. "Uncle Qrow?"

"What is it Ruby?" Qrow shifted to look at his niece who moved out of the way and pushed Winter into the room. His eyes widened in surprise and, as she closed the door, all he could think about was what she was doing there. "Winter?"

"What happened, Qrow?" She asked, her voice much softer than usual as he groaned while pulling himself up to see her better. "Ruby said -"

Qrow laughed sarcastically, knowing that Ruby could have made it sound much worse than he perceived it as. "I'm fine, Ice Queen. Were you really worried about me?"

"Of course I was!" In spite of herself, Winter found that she was fighting back tears. "I haven't really got much of an idea of what we are and I -"

"Hey, calm down...calm down." He said as she moved over towards him hesitantly. "Look, I'm alright. And as for what we are, I thought it was pretty well established that we're together."

"Well we've been separated -"

"That doesn't change it," Qrow sighed and she tried to hold back from snapping or leaning over to kiss him on impulse. "That doesn't change a damn thing unless you want it to."

Winter wiped away the few rogue tears that had escaped her eyes against her will. "I guess I…"

"You really haven't been with any guys who aren't complete assholes before, have you?" Qrow smirked and leaned over some to pull her into as much as embrace as possible.

"Seriously, I told you that I wanted to try to be something real with you and I meant it."

"I -"

"I get it, Ice Queen, you aren't used to this and I'm sure that I'm the last person that you thought that you'd find yourself in a relationship with -" Qrow's thought was cut off by her swiftly kissing him. "Winter -"

"I...I… Qrow… I…"

"I love you," Qrow told her with a small smile. "Seriously, I love you."

"Qrow, I -"

"We can take things slow if you want to, Winter. I -"

"Qrow, how did the accident happen?" Winter was quiet but more serious than he was used to seeing her - and he had seen her when she was doing her job as a specialist.

"Qrow, I swear to -"

"My semblance caused it," He admitted, a nervous look in his eye. "I was trying to save Ruby and the stinger went into me."

"Qrow -"

"If you ever wanted to know what could happen to people who get too close to me," He began darkly. "Then this would be a pretty good example."

"Or it could be simply -"

"Bad luck," His eyes narrowed for a brief moment before he rolled on to his back and grunted irritably. "If you want to walk out now, I'm not going to stop you because you deserve someone better than me. I'm older than you, I've got a messed up past that I have to deal with, and I could hurt you."

"Well," She said as she sat down next to him, toulsing his hair. "I'm staying."

* * *

 _ **January 22nd  
City Of Atlas; Atlas  
Downtown**_

Though it was almost two in the morning, Glynda was finding sleep elusive. This in part had to do with the fact that she was still haunted by the state of Beacon Academy in her dreams, but it more so had to do with the fact that her mind would not shut off. Climbing out of bed as quietly as she could without waking James, she picked up her glasses and put them back on before walking out onto the balcony that overlooked the city. The rain had just stopped and everything was still wet but she didn't care. It reminded her of her home in Vale as a child though that was bittersweet for her to recall. She remembered going out on her parent's balcony late at night to read or to listen to music by herself and she especially remembered watching the streets of the city of Vale below her with curiosity - there were so many people.

The city was still being repaired though the Valerian council was doing everything that it had to the power to do to ensure that the repairs wouldn't take much longer. As for Beacon, Port and Oobleck were still there and although she had spent weeks there trying to fix it, she couldn't stand seeing the damage that the fall had caused. Both of them had been supportive of her decision to go to Atlas and she was relieved that it had gone well. Glynda hadn't been all that surprised in that regard since, technically speaking, she was Atlesian. One of her parents was Valerian and the other Atlesian but they had raised her in Atlas until she was fifteen and then she went back to attend Atlas Academy. She lived in the kingdom for a few years after that before she was offered a job in Vale at Beacon and permanently went back there for work. Legally, she was both but she felt more Valerian than not because of how long she spent there as an adult.  
 _  
It was not terribly late, just about five in the evening, and she had just arrived in Atlas. She knew that was going to be taking a risk by grabbing her bags and going directly to James's apartment but she decided to not care. It was six by the time she finally got there and, to her relief, he was there. The second she had set down her bags and closed the door, his arms were tightly around her and her lips were looking for his. Once they found them, she drew him closer while continuing to kiss him and it took only a few minutes before she was finding herself on top of him on the couch. Squeaking a little before laughing weakly and laying in his arms while he ran his fingers through her messy hair, she let her relief of being with him settle._

" _Glynda..."  
_  
" _What? I thought you wanted me to come here."  
_  
" _I thought you were staying in Vale."  
_  
" _Maybe I missed you beyond belief."  
_  
" _Did you?"  
_  
" _Of course I did - I missed you the moment you left but I also couldn't stay there."  
_  
" _It's my fault, I'm sorry, I should have -"  
_  
" _Don't even say it - you know just as well as i do that you couldn't have stopped the fall .It was probably a good thing that the Atlas -"  
_  
" _Glynda -"  
_  
" _Stop it, please, it's not your fault. I'm just glad that you're okay. You could have died in that crash and then I…" Glynda trailed off as she started to cry in spite of herself. "James I...I love you."_

 _He sighed and pulled her closer. "I love you too, I promise."_

 _She smiled and kissed his forehead. "I might not leave._

" _I can live with that." James ruffled her hair and she softly smiled before kissing him deeply.  
_  
She smiled as she remembered that. They had talked for over an hour before the two of them had given up and ended up in bed together - not for the first time. Though she had known that he wasn't going to leave her or that stop loving her, it was a relief to know that sure. He admitted later that he had been scared that he had lost her and that she had decided that it was too stressful to be in a relationship with him again. She had slapped him after that before pulling him into a passionate kiss. She had called him an idiot for thinking that and swore that if that had been the case that she would have made it clear.

"Are you okay?" Wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in as she turned around, James looked at her in concern while she sighed.

"Trouble sleeping - you know that. I'm assuming the same applies to you."

"How did you guess?"

"The two of us have been this way for years and I -"

Cutting her off with a kiss, he tried to comfort her. "It's going to be alright, I promise."

Pushing her hair away her eyes, she paused. "I hope so."

"I love you, and I'm not going anywhere. I've got you." James kissed her again before she rested in his arms.

"I love you too," She murmured before he helped her back inside and the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms.


	7. Chapter 7

_**January 29th  
Mistral  
8:30 PM  
**_  
The day had been pretty long but it was nothing compared to what he was imagining was coming for the next. The fact that he was going to be showing a group of teenagers Mistral before meeting with Leo was going to drag the next day on and on. At least, he supposed, the fact that he healed was good and it was very good that Winter was there. She hadn't been eager to leave him alone while he was dealing with the after effects of the stinger but, on Ruby's persistent pleas to let him rest rather than talk, she had relented however grudgingly. Now that he was doing better, he didn't want her to go away for very long - not that he really had wanted to to begin with. His dreams had turned less from being a bad luck charm and more towards having sex with her though he knew better than anyone that she would reject the idea if he brought it up at the moment. That was not to say that they weren't passionate - they had snogged for over ten minutes in the corridor outside the room before Ruby accidently ran into them and freaked out. Of all the people she had expected her uncle to get involved with, Winter Schnee was one of the last of them. Her normally perfectly done hair had been down and one hand tightly wound in it while the other was pulling her closer and was low on her back. Her arms had been around his neck, and the two of them had been virtually impervious to what had been going on. That was, until Ruby screamed.

" _Oh my god!" Ruby looked at the two adults in surprise as they broke apart. "Uncle Qrow!"  
_  
" _Ruby..." Qrow didn't even have to try to act annoyed - that was simply how he was. "Look, kid -"  
_  
" _Are you two dating?" The red-headed girl half-squealed. "That's crazy - I mean, in a good way, but I thought that the two of you hated each other?"  
_  
" _We don't hate each other," Winter insisted. "I mean it Ruby."_

" _Well...I mean you kind of tore apart our courtyard…" The young girl rubbed her arm sheepishly before giggling. "But, I mean, this is great! Are you two happy?"  
_  
" _Yes," Winter told her, an arm wrapped around Qrow. "But -"  
_  
" _No, I get it…" Ruby said, bouncing in place. "I'll leave you two to...whatever it is you're doing."  
_  
Hearing Winter sigh in the doorway, Qrow turned around looked at her. She was wearing long silk pants that brushed the ground and were tied at the waist and she also was in a long sleeved top that went off her shoulders exposing them and her muted pink bra straps. Her long, white hair was down though the faintest bit of her natural black was seeping in at the roots. Her left arm was up against the door frame and her hip was leaning against it in the opposite direction. All he could think about was how beautiful she looked and, getting up from his little corner where he had been reading on his scroll, he came over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She smiled and pulled him into a kiss before he brought her into a tight embrace.

"Miss me, Ice Queen?" Qrow asked, rubbing his thumb against her slightly pink cheek. "'Cause I missed you."

"Well…" Winter said, bringing him into a kiss and biting his lower lip slightly as she broke it. "What do you think? After all, I'm standing right before you and -"

Qrow brought her back into a kiss, this time with more passion. Their lips met in a frenzy and fought for dominance as she grabbed fistfuls of his dark, spiky hair. His arms wrapped themselves tightly around her waist and brought her closer to him as they continued to snog and they didn't even stop as her back gently began to press against the wall. All she did was draw him closer and he slowly began to tread his fingers through her darkening locks. It wasn't until she felt his hands on her back that she broke the kiss with a heavy sigh. Gently pushing him away, Winter looked at him with her eyes both wide and tired before she loosely wrapped her arms around him.

"I can't, Qrow, not right now." Winter told him, her voice quiet. "I'm not ready for that."

"Okay," He nodded and kissed her forehead in little more than a peck and held her close. "It's up to you."

Taking his hand in hers, Winter squeezed it with a small smile and the two of them walked out of the room. Though it was drizzling slightly and the sun was beginning to set, Winter and Qrow walked around the city of Mistral for awhile, hand in hand, without speaking. It was nice to be able to spend some time together that they knew would go uninterrupted and even the silence was nice. It wasn't awkward, it felt natural. Though she was worried about how was holding up in Atlas, she tried to reason with herself that nothing had happened because she would have heard about it by now if something had. Of course, it was certainly not comforting to know that she was with their father or that their mother was still not getting any better, at least the last time she had checked. All she could do was hope that she was alright and that things weren't getting too much harder for her. Whitley, she could imagine, wasn't helping in the slightest. In spite of the fact that she knew full well that her brother wasn't as bad as he could make himself out to be, she also knew that he was similar to their father in many regards and the last thing she wanted was for him to do something to intentionally hurt Weiss. Not that he hadn't done things that had appeared to be that way before.

"You alright, Winter?" Qrow asked, squeezing her hand. "You seem tense."

Cursing her noticible tension, Winter sighed. "I'm fine, Qrow, really."

Qrow looked at her in concern before nodding. "Okay. But if something's bothering you, I don't have a problem with talking about it if that'll make you feel better."


	8. Chapter 8

_**January 30th  
City Of Atlas; Atlas  
Downtown  
**_  
Wrapping his arms tightly around Glynda as he came up from behind her, James smiled as she turned around with a squeak of surprise and wrapped her arms around his neck. Resting in his arms, she smiled lightly as he kissed her jaw before finally reaching her lips and drawing her closer as they deepened their kiss. Her fingers threaded into his hair and tousled it lovingly while she continued to press her lips against his with passion. His hands were low on her waist and held her securely while she let her emotions guide her as she slowly deepened it further still as she felt her back press up against the wall. It wasn't until he pulled away just long enough to kiss her cheek and lift her up into his arms that she sighed and rested her head on his shoulder while he pushed her glasses back up and traced the faintly visible scar on her neck just below her left ear.

"Princess…" James murmured as he noticed the tears in her eyes as she remembered the state of Beacon. "I know things are hard for you, but I've got you."

Wiping her tears away as they started to fall, she found that she was angry at herself for being so sensitive. "No...no, I'm just being weak."

"Glynda Goodwitch, the last thing you are is weak." James promised her, kissing her gently. "You've found ways to carry on even through pain when others would have succumbed to their fears."

"I'm crying for almost no reason -"

"Glynda the fall was horrible and -"

"I'm handling it poorly! So what if I can get angry with the council of Atlas? So what if I can put -"

Cupping her face in his hands as he set her down gently on the counter, James tried to reason with her. "Princess, what is this really about? It can't just be about the fall, can it?"

Setting her crop down next to her, Glynda buried her face in her hands. "James, I…"

"What's bothering you?" James asked her as he took her hands in his. "Really, it's okay. I want to know."

For several long moments, Glynda didn't speak, rather, she tried to get her thoughts in order before she found the will to speak. When she did, it was quiet and unusually soft, something that surprised him greatly. "James...why do you even love me?"

Of all the things he had expected her to say, that was the last of them. "Glynda...are you serious?"

"Of course I am!" She snapped, tears flowing again against her will. "Because I...I -"

"Glynda, I've loved you since we were at fucking Atlas Academy!" James exclaimed, pulling her close and rubbing her back affectionately. "I only left because you told me that -"

"I don't think I can handle this…" Glynda mumbled remembering the look of hurt on his face when she had pushed him away. "And yet even though we tried to stay close I...I still ended up hurting you because you still wanted me when I didn't want you."

"It wasn't just black and white, Princess." James said as he took her into his arms and carrying her into their room. "Of all the things that are important to me in this world, you are probably at the top of that list -"

"James, doesn't it bother you that I pushed you away and -"

"No, it doesn't." James told her passionately. "Glynda, I hoped that you still loved me and I was so happy that -"

"I love you, James -"

"I know, and I love you -"

Sighing in irritation, Glynda shook her head as she remembered the day that she had left for Vale with semi-permanency attached to it. "I...I'm still a mess -"

James cut her words off with a light kiss. "No, you aren't. You're the -"

"James Ironwood, I've hurt you before and I hated doing it -"

"Glynda, I don't know what I have to do to prove that I won't leave you!" James pulled her into him tightly as she swayed the second that her feet were on the ground once again. "Unless you want me to, I'm never going to leave you! I love you so much and -"

"I need you," She told him, forcing her tears to stop steadily flowing down her face as she wrapped herself tighter around him. "I love you, and I -"

James took her hands in his and kissed her deeply, letting his emotions guide him. "Glynda Catherine Goodwitch, will you marry me?"

Tightly wrapping her arms around him after kissing him again, Glynda nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. "Yes…"

Slipping a silver ring in the design of a vine with two teal and one purple gem onto her finger, James rubbed her back before holding her at arms length. "Glynda, I -"

"I love you so much James," Glynda said as she pulled him into another passionate kiss. A smile gracing her face, she sighed and let him hold her close. "I...we should have done this a long time ago."

"It's okay," James told her as he kissed her temples. "It doesn't matter."

Leaning into him, Glynda closed her eyes for the briefest moment before she felt him pushing her glasses back up. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am." James said, gently unclasping her cape. "I'm just glad that I have you."

Feeling the cool metal of his cybernetic hand through her blouse, Glynda pulled him closer, relieved that her partner - fiance - was still here. "It's going to take time to get used to it...but I do like the sound of Glynda Ironwood."

"You don't have to change your name," James told her, holding her securely. "You really don't, not unless you want -"

"I want to," Glynda kissed him softly before looking at him. "Really, I do."

Arms still around her tight, James sighed in relief and after which he gave her a squeeze which caused her to draw him closer still. Several minutes passed in this state of simply being in each other's arms before he kissed her lightly and cupped her face in his hands. "I love you so much."

Glynda gave him a soft smile as he caressed her cheek. "I love you too."

* * *

 _ **February 13th  
Mistral  
7:12 AM  
**_  
"Qrow!" Winter exclaimed with a laugh. "What is going on with your hair?"

Qrow ran his fingers through his unbrushed and wildly tangled locks. "A little bit of this is your fault. I didn't bother to brush it after you messed it up last night."

Winter went scarlet just as Ruby came bouncing into the room with Nora following her in equal pace. "Qrow…"

Pulling her in by her waist though she continued to glare, Qrow smirked. "Snowflake, there's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Do you or do you not understand how I raised?" Winter asked him as she dragged him off into the other room where she knew they would not be overhear by the teenagers who were all excitedly having breakfast. "Qrow, I'm not going to call last night a mistake but -"

"We were impulsive and -"

"I was half-drunk!" Winter half shouted before she realized the ill advised nature of doing so. Lowering her voice as she sighed and forced herself to meet her gaze though she would feel her blush deepening. "I remember it though…it was nice and..."

"I shouldn't have -"

"Don't say that," Winter snapped though she was still conflicted. "I just don't know quite what to think. Especially if my father was to find out that I slept with you -"

"Winter," Qrow said, looking at her seriously and placing his hands on her shoulders. "What is the absolute worst thing that could happen to you if he by some stretch of the imagination found out?"

"The worst?" She asked rhetorically as she tried to remain rational. "Well I already lost my claim to the company when I joined the military -"

"Speaking of which," Qrow said with a slight smirk to which Winter narrowed her eyes. "What do you think will happen when Jimmy finds out that -"

"Qrow!" Winter couldn't restrain herself from actually shouting this time. "What - are you mad? Have you gone mad?"

"What?" Qrow asked, raising an eyebrow. "No, I'm serious."

"I don't know if I particularly want to make our relationship public, which would be the circumstance to which he would, most likely, find out." Winter pulled away from him and leaned against the wall in the narrow corridor. "And -"

"I doubt he'd be bothered by it," Qrow told her, restraining himself from making any comments about what he viewed as Winter's almost ridiculous loyalty to James. "I mean, he's involved with someone like Glynda -"

"What?" Winter demanded, half ready to slap him in more so irritation at the drastic change of subject than anything else. "That has nothing to do with -"

Qrow sighed heavily and she stopped. "Sorry, I know that that isn't the point. Okay, so…" Softening his tone as he hesitantly moved towards her and leaned her into him, Qrow swore to himself that he would do this as sensitive as possible. "So what is the worst thing that your father could do to you if he found out that you're with me?"

For a time, Winter didn't respond but when she did it was lacking her usual sharpness. Pushing her sleeve down to a particular dark spot that had a slight indent on her arm that he hadn't noticed last night, Winter forced herself not to cry as she recalled several of the memories from her childhood that she had suppressed. "This is what could happen, maybe worse...when I was growing up...if I made a mistake or if I stepped across the line or if I just wasn't good enough I would…" Sighing as she tried to hide the tears that were brimming at the corners of her eyes, Winter swallowed back her fears. "I have a feeling that you can kind of draw your own conclusions from this and...and it's not the only one...that I have."

Though he had known full well that Jacques Schnee was a snake who had little care for anyone except for himself and that he had given Winter the faint scar under her left cheek, it was jarring still to notice the other damages that he had caused to her and he was certain that there were scars on her psyche as well. Looking at her with his eyes slightly wide, Qrow tried to push away his desire to hurt the man who had caused Winter, what he could imagine, terrible pain. "I can't believe that he could do something like that to you."

"He's hurt Weiss too and my mother...interestingly enough, he's never hurt Whitley - physically, anyways." Sighing, she gently pushed him away. "If you were ever wondering what happened to my mother...well I suppose this gives you an idea though with her it was mental more so than physical…"

Kissing her gently, Qrow tried to aleve the pain that he could imagine that she was experiencing. "Win, I'm sorry."

"Why? It's not your fault," Practical as always, and Qrow sighed.

"Winter, no one should have to suffer like that and especially at the hand of someone who claims to be a parent in any sense other than biological."

"Qrow -"

"I mean it," He told her, his eyes blazing. "And I will never let him touch you again. He's caused you enough pain already and you never deserved any of it no matter what he had you believe."

"Qrow, I can protect myself." Winter snapped though regretted it when she saw the look of hurt in his eyes. Softening her tone, she added. "I'm glad you care about me because I care about you but I don't need you to fight my battles for me."

"I know…" He admitted with a heavy sigh. "I know that but I can't help but feel a drive to protect you, especially because I'm afraid of hurting you myself by accident."

Something snapping inside of her, considering the amount of times they'd been through this, Winter narrowed her eyes though her tone was gentle. "Qrow, under what circumstances would your semblance be able to cause me -"

"I don't know and frankly I don't want to imagine what -"

"The don't because it isn't really your fault if you -"

"If I hurt you and -"

"You aren't going to hurt me!" She snapped as Oscar came into the corridor, looking at them in surprise as they attempted to mask the fact that they had been arguing.

" _May I?"_ Ozpin asked Oscar from inside his head and the young boy nodded as he let Ozpin take control. Looking at both of them, he sighed.

"Qrow, honestly, are you still going on about your semblance?"

"Oz -"

"You aren't going to hurt anyone," Ozpin-Oscar told him. "And did I tell you what I learnt while we were listening to some of the bar patrons where I found you?"

"I barely remember that night," Qrow admitted as he tried to recall February the third beyond finding Oz. "What were they sayin'?"

Ozpin-Oscar laughed. "It's all over the news."

"None of us have been keepin' up with that." Qrow told him as Winter sighed in recollection of her dismay at being unable to get the Atlesian RINSE (Remnant International News And Social Expertise) Network and had refused to watch whatever the gossip was. "Winter hates gossip because -"

Winter cut him off in irritation. "Because I do not need to -"

"Both of you, stop it." Ozpin-Oscar said firmly though he smiled after. "I mean that Glynda and James are engaged."

Winter raised an eyebrow while at the same time Qrow began to laugh. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," Ozpin-Oscar said. "I'm completely serious."

Continuing to laugh while Winter glared at him, Qrow managed to speak. "Damn...that's something else, I've got to say. One of these days I've gotta tell Jimmy -"

"Qrow," Ozpin-Oscar said with finality. "Please get a hold of yourself."

"Alright," Qrow said with a smirk while Winter punched him in the arm. "But seriously, I can't wait to hear more about that."


	9. Chapter 9

_**February 19th  
City Of Atlas; Atlas  
Downtown  
**_  
As a result of not only anger but upset as well, Glynda shut her scoll and cast it aside before setting her crop down as well. Seeing the still ongoing damage to Beacon Academy was more than painful than she cared to admit and, as she crossed her arms and collapsed on to the couch, she felt her eyes growing heavy in response to the pain that was shooting through her mind and the pain that was heavily throbbing against her skull. Lifting her knees up to her chest, Glynda curled into herself and cried as her glasses pressed against her face, leaving subtle marks of red against her pale complexion. It wasn't until the door to the apartment opened that she looked up through her blurred vision and fogged glasses and saw that James was back and looking at her in concern before coming over to her and pulling her tightly into his arms while letting her platinum blonde waves out of their tight bun and kissing her forehead.

"It's okay, Princess…" James murmured, knowing that she must have seen more of the damage to Beacon. "And if it's not, then it will be soon enough."

"I don't even quite know what I'm supposed to do," Glynda told him, her voice incredibly quiet. "I can't even think quite right without having a row with someone over this or getting too personally involved."

"Neither can I," James admitted. "Because it was my fault and I haven't the slightest idea how to fix the damage I caused to another kingdom."

"No," Glynda said. "It's not your fault because no one could have seen what was going to happen. I don't even think Ozpin knew."

"Do you think Qrow is right that he's still out there?" James asked her, knowing that the chance of Qrow telling her something would be much higher than the chance of Qrow informing him. "I mean, I know he supposedly reincarnates but even if that's true then the chances of finding him are -"

"Astronomically low," She finished. "I'm not sure what to think about that possibility."

"Neither am I," He agreed, letting her curl into him. "Princess, I know things are difficult to handle and I hate knowing that I've hurt you."

"Stop it," Glynda told him, looking up. "You know just as well as I do that nothing either of us could have done would have prevented the fall."

"Which makes it worse," He said. "Because it means that in spite of everything, in spite of the fact that I had everything under control...it means that what happened was inevitable."

"I know," Sighing, Glynda closed her eyes for a brief moment. "But that doesn't put either of us at fault. We just feel that way because..."

"Because we're so personally involved with it," He finished quietly. "I wish things had turned out differently."

"So do I...but they didn't…" Though she was trying to be rational, she was helpless to stop the torrent of emotions running through her. "I just...if I had been able to stop it, I would have."

"That's true for both of us," James assured her. "You're not alone."

Glynda looked up and kissed him gently. "With you? Of course I'm not."

"I love you," James promised, kissing her again. "I really do."

"I know and I love you," Glynda said, pulling him back down into another kiss. "I still can't believe how quickly the media figured it out though."

"I'm not surprised," James admitted. "Considering that nothing stays quiet or hushed up in the kingdom of Atlas for very long."

"You would think that I would know that," Glynda said, curling into him more tightly. "But it still managed to surprise me. It's alright though. With the wedding in a few weeks, it would be out by now either way."

"You're right," James agreed, kissing her forehead. "And I love you so much that I don't think you even quite know."

"I have a decent idea," Glynda replied with a smirk. "After all, I pushed you away and...and you still love me in spite of that."

"I always will," James swore to her. "Because I would have married you on the spot if you had suggested that instead of leaving."

"Really?" Glynda raised an eyebrow but he nodded and she sighed. "I shouldn't be very surprised. Honestly, part of me wishes I had… maybe if I had we could have had a family."

"It's okay, I promise," James said, pushing her slightly askew glasses back up. "I love you regardless."

"Perfect…" She murmured. "Because I need you…"

James smiled as he brought her closer to him and ran his fingers through her hair. "I need you too, Glyns."

* * *

 _ **February 23rd  
Mistral  
7:30 PM  
**_  
"Qrow…" Winter laughed as he lifted her up and pulled her close. "What are you doing and why?"

"Easy," Qrow told her with a smirk and a peck to the forehead. "Because someone needs to remind you that there's more to life than doing reports for Jimmy."

"Qrow, I've got to get these filed within the next few days -"

"So?" He challenged to which she raised an eyebrow. "Is that of any particular surprise? You just get it done _eventually_ and then there's nothing to worry about."

"Oh shut your gob!" Winter exclaimed. "You aren't nearly as -"

Qrow smirked. "As restrained as you are? Because If you want me to, I will gladly head up to Atlas and have a little 'chat' with James if it'll ease your life up a little."

"No!" Winter gave him a look of horror at the thought. "You are not going to Atlas just so that you can pull some sort of stunt with General Ironwood!"

"I mean…" Qrow started laughing. "In theory I could. Maybe the teenagers could help?"

"You're impossible!" Winter said, dramatically curling into him. "But if you promise not to do that, then maybe I'll calm down."

"Oh really?" Qrow said, kissing her with passion. "I thought I was the one who could get you to calm down with -"

"Oh don't even say it!" Winter glared at him though she wasn't really angry. "If any of them overhear then I am going to be incredibly irritated with you!"

"Why?" Qrow asked with an irresistible smirk. "Are you afraid of admitting that we've had sex?"

"To my sister's friends?" Winter demanded, her eyes flaring. "Yes."

"Okay," Qrow said ruffling her hair. "Well if you won't let me go to Atlas to argue with James then maybe we should go to save your sister!"

"What?" Winter looked at him in surprise before shaking her head. "Qrow, have you gone mad? Do you have a death wish?"

"Of course not," He promised her as he set her down and loosely wrapped his arms around her waist. "But I can't stand the thought of Jacques hurting anyone else and...admittedly that includes your arse of a brother."

"Kidnapping is not the best way to handle that!" Winter exclaimed, slightly fearful of what her father would do to her if he merely even suspected her as to having any involvement in anything that Qrow could do to help Weiss and Whitley. "And not because I don't care about my siblings!"

"Win," Qrow said as gently as possible. "You told me yourself about just how horrible your father has been to everyone in your family. He deserves to pay for what he's done."

"You don't have any semblance of what he could do to you...or even what he could do to me if he…" Winter trailed off, groaning in frustration. "This is the same man who told his own wife that he only married her for her family name and fortune. He's more manipulative than you think."

"How is he even still allowed to have custody over the two of them?" Qrow asked her, trying to understand. "Because if he's as abusive to them as he was to you then he has no right being a parent. Hell, why hasn't your mother just divorced him and taken the two of them?"

Winter sighed. "That's not how that works. My mother isn't...she doesn't know how to admit to herself that her marriage was over from its start. The entire nature of her marriage to my father drove her into alcoholism and she just doesn't know how to move on. She's in a terrible place but she's not a terrible mother, at least as far as I'm concerned. I know Weiss wishes she was able to bring herself to be more openly supportive of her but I think that she knows that our mother just can't bring herself to be the woman that she was. The day my father told her the truth - November 17th eight years ago - was also Weiss's tenth birthday and she and I…" Slight tears escaping her as she remembered the sound of the breaking glass and the screams that were at first indecipherable but then clear, Winter shook slightly as Qrow gently wiped her tears away. "We heard him say it and we...we heard her start to cry and demand that he not be such a...such a prat… and it wasn't too long after that she slowly slipped out of sight. Weiss was thirteen by the last time our mother made a public appearance and…"

"Oh Winter…" Qrow said, pulling her into him tightly. "I'm sorry…"

"I just…" Looking at him, she forced herself not to cry. "There's no way out for her and even if there was it wouldn't be able to be with Weiss and Whitley. She might get her own freedom, but our father would ensure that she would be declared an unfit parent."

"Of course he would," Qrow muttered, angered by the idea of the man ever laying a finger on any of his children or his wife. "And I would kill him for it."  
In spite of how serious it all was, Winter laughed weakly. "I don't think it needs to go that far…"

"Snowflake, he's hurt you in some many ways and I can't let that slide," Qrow told her, cupping her face in his slightly calloused hands. "I...I love you…"

"I love you too…" Winter said, a slight thrill running through her at the acknowledgement. "Qrow -"

"I'm not going to let anyone hurt you," He vowed. "Ever...including me."

"You won't," She assured him, wrapping herself more tightly around him. "I don't care what you think. I know you won't."

"You know something?" Qrow said with a sigh. "You really are the optimist sometimes."

"No," Winter corrected gently. "I'm the realist."

"Are you -"

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby half screamed, running into the room before stopping abruptly when she saw Winter. "Uh...sorry...it's just..uh…"

"Nora!" Ren and Jaune screamed simultaneously. "Do not drink that coffee!"

"Why?" Nora demanded, shouting back at them. "It's just triple shot, excessively sweetened, milky espresso!"

"You're going to start bouncing off the walls, given half a chance to drink that!" Ren screamed. "For everyone's sake, please don't -"

"Nah!" Nora replied, bouncing into the room while chugging the coffee before a wild grin spread across her face. "I'm going to be -" Cutting off her own words as she jumped up on to the couch, Nora set her hands on her hips and cackled wildly. "I'm queen of the castle, I'm queen of the castle!"

"She's gone mad!" Jaune said, looking at Ren who all but shrugged. "Should we...knock her unconscious?"

"No one is rendering anyone unconscious," Winter told him while Qrow laughed and she slapped him in the arm. "Believe me, Qrow and I do not want to have to resuscitate any of you."

Ruby giggled. "Ha, imagine that…"


	10. Chapter 10

_**February 25th  
Mistral  
11:29 PM**_

 _As the smoke and the fog clear and he stops coughing, all that surrounds him is darkness though it is startlingly banished by a sudden wind that whips his already messy black hair around. It is now that he can see the creatures of grimm that were coming into the clearing. It almost seemed like all of the grimm that had ever existed were there and he realized that they had brought the darkness. His red eyes flared angrily and he began to reach for Harbinger though he found himself cursing when it wasn't on his back. As they began to close in, he himself started to fight them though he found so to be difficult and physically strenuous after the first few. Forcing himself to go on, he eventually forced the majority of the creatures away although every part of his body felt heavy and sore and his aura was near depleted. For that reason, in spite of his overarching distaste for the Atlas military and one of its most prominent leaders, the sight of the Atlesian military ships taking out some of the others was a serious relief and even more so was seeing the white haired woman walk off of one of the landed ships and smile as she slowly made her way towards him.  
_  
" _Winter?" He said while she wrapped herself around him. "What are you doing here?"  
_  
" _Saving you, what does it look like?" Winter asked with a smirk. "Branwen -"_

 _Not even caring what they were doing could look like, Qrow pulled her into a kiss that she returned with equal passion, her fingers ruining the faint sign of any grooming to his already destroyed hair. "I love you, Winter."_

 _She smiled and took his hand. "I love you too, Qrow."_

 _"That's a relief," Qrow told her as they began to leave the scene. "Because I'd rather not get in a destructive fight with you again."_

 _Winter laughed and replied sarcastically. "You don't want to tear apart the courtyard of one of the Academies again?"_

 _"Well…." Qrow began while pulling her closer. "What do you think Jimmy would do to me if we tore apart the courtyard of Atlas Academy?"_

 _Winter let an involuntary shriek of surprise and horror. "No! Absolutely not!"_

 _"You don't want to do that?" Qrow asked though she slapped him and he sighed. "Okay, we won't do that."  
_  
 _"We better not!" Winter exclaimed turning to look at him. "And I mean that -"  
_  
 _"Calm down, Ice Queen, calm down," Qrow said, his voice low and his hands running up and down her arms. "We won't do that."_

 _Winter groaned in irritation with him though it abated when she looked at him. "Well, at least you admitted that it's a terrible idea."_

 _"Of course I did," Qrow said. "And -"  
_  
 _"Qrow!" A voice snapped from behind him. When he turned, he saw his sister. "What the hell are you doing?"  
_  
 _"Raven," Qrow said, wishing she would go away. "What do you want?"_

 _Her gaze shifting to Winter, her eyes narrowed. "Well, the usual information but also to know why your arm is around the waist of not only an Atlesian but a Schnee and one in the Atlas military. I haven't forgotten about how James has tried to limit what our tribe -"_

 _"Your tribe," Qrow snapped. "And his attempts to place limits on its expansion of territory are one of the few things I actually agree with him on."_

 _Raven snorted. "You really don't place family ahead of your...desires."_

 _"If I were you I would recommend that you not continue further than that," Winter told her, a warning not in her voice indicating the weight it typically carried. "And -"_

 _A shot was fired from behind them and it barely missed them while Raven made her escape. Ready to fight whoever had fired the shot, Qrow began to run when he saw the shooter but Winter followed him and even as he tried to get her to stop, to move as far away from him as possible, the shot didn't miss its target this time even as he tried to jump in front of her and stop the bullet from going through her and -_

"Qrow?" Winter asked quietly, brushing her fingers over his forehead. "Qrow -"

Forcing himself to open his eyes, Qrow looked at her nervously and he sighed when he saw how concerned her gaze was. "Winter...I -"

"What happened?" She pressed as gentle as she could manage, wrapping her arms around him and letting herself lay on top of him while his fingers gently ran over her soft hair. "Qrow, you were shifting so much that -"

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" He asked though his eyes went wide off of her hesitation. "Winter -"

"You only kicked me in the leg, but I'm fine." Winter said, kissing his forehead. "It only woke me up, that's it. Nothing happened beside that. I'm not even bruised."

"I still hurt you," He countered and she shook her head. "Winter, no matter what you think I still caused you some pain -"

"Shut up, Qrow!" Winter snapped though she felt guilty when she saw the flash of hurt in his countenance. "Qrow…"

"Win, I can't hurt you. You've already suffered enough in your life, and I don't need to cause more - for any reason," Qrow said, his voice weak. "And I -"

"Qrow, if you say one thing about your semblance," Winter began, her tone dark. "I swear to Oum, I will -"

"Winter Vanessa Schnee, I don't care what anyone says because I almost got Ruby killed -"

"No you didn't, that was just -"

"Don't even say it," Qrow said, barely able to think the words without tears rising in his eyes. "I know what you're going to say and you -"

"I know, but I've got you," Winter said, kissing him softly and wiping the faint tears away from his eyes. "I can take perfect care of myself, and you know it."

"So?" He challenged weakly. "It doesn't matter if I -"

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby screamed, bursting open the door to the room. "Guess who's here?"

Qrow groaned as he pushed himself up and Winter wrapped herself around him. "Ruby, I'm not in the mood -"

"Is uncle Qrow in there?" Yang asked and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw her face and she began to giggle when she saw that Winter was with him. "Oh my god!"

"Yang," Qrow said, giving her a sharp look. "Not -"

"What are you two doing…" Weiss began though she trailed off and began to cry when she saw her sister who half ran over to her and pulled her in tightly. "Winter!"

"You're alright…" Winter said, taking in her sister's slightly disheveled appearance. "Well, mostly, it seems."

"Try being kidnapped by a cult leader for -"

"Cult leader?" Winter asked, terrified by the possibilities that her mind was considering. "Weiss -"

"Raven Branwen," Weiss said bitterly. "And it turns out that not only was I kidnapped by a cult leader, but that she's Yang's mother."

Yang glared. "Sure, but it's not like she's done much of the whole _being_ a mother thing."

Qrow sighed and slowly moved over towards them. "I know, Yang."

"Hey!" Weiss snapped upon seeing Qrow. "You -"

"It's alright, Weiss," Winter told her tiredly. "Qrow is my...my…"

"Partner," Qrow said and Winter blushed against her will. "There's nothing to be ashamed of, Ice Queen, really."

Weiss looked at both of them with a raised eyebrow and her arms crossed. "So the two of you are involved? Since when?"

"December," Winter admitted with a sigh. "And -"

"If you hurt my sister, I will hurt you worse," Weiss told him, summoning a smaller version of her Arma Gigas in the palm of her hand to Winter's surprise. "And I will not feel any remorse about doing so."

Qrow laughed though he was still horrified by the possibility of causing Winter pain. "Yeah, well I haven't the faintest intention of doing that."

"You can summon, sister?" Winter asked and Weiss nodded, slightly embarrassed. "That's great."

"Thanks…" Weiss said as her scroll buzzed angrily. Glancing at the caller ID, Weiss began to shake in fear and Winter took it from her, answering it herself.

"Father," Winter said, not bothering to hide her irritation. "What do you want?"

"What do I want?" Jacques demanded, shocked not only by the question but by the fact that it was Winter and not Weiss who answered. "Have you lost your mind? Where is your sister and how do you have her scroll?"

"Weiss is fine," Winter informed him, beginning to pace while both Weiss and Qrow watched her in concern. "And so am I. Therefore, you have no reason to be concerned. Oh, and do give Whitley my… congratulations on becoming the heir to the Schnee Dust Company."

"Winter," Jacques said, his voice slow and deadly. "If you don't tell me where you and your sister are, I will do everything in my power to find the both of you and have you brought back to Atlas."

Winter felt her patience breaking though she forced herself to be as restrained as possible. "I should think that you ought to know that you haven't that power over me."

"And why is that?" Jacques asked her though she didn't respond at first. "Why is that?"

"Because I'm an adult," Winter snapped. "And I'm sure if you have any questions about that that it can be cleared up by looking at my records and seeing that my date of birth indicates -"

"Weiss -"

"Can I talk to him?" Qrow asked her quietly and she hesitated though finally smirked and handed it to him. "Jacques Gele."

The man didn't respond for a moment before he tried to force himself to be cordial. "Qrow Branwen."

"Listen to me," Qrow said, anger seeping into his voice. "I love Winter, and I'm going to prevent Weiss from getting hurt any further by you. I don't care what you have to say about it, and believe me when I say that you're not going to lay a finger on either of them. Burn in hell for all I care."

Clicking off the line sharply, Qrow tossed Weiss's scroll back to her while she looked at him in shock before sighing. "I guess...maybe...I suppose...you aren't terrible. And my sister has always had excellent judgement."

Qrow laughed. "You aren't as bad as you could be either and I agree that Winter has excellent judgement… in most things."

Winter glared at him though she kissed him. "Well, I love you."

"I love you too, Win," Qrow said, bringing her closer. "I love you too."


	11. Chapter 11

_**February 29th  
Mistral  
1:32 PM**_

"I love this coffee!" Nora screamed, doing three pirouettes in direct succession before an arabesque en pointe. "It makes me an even better dancer!"

"You dance?" Ruby asked her with a smile while gently tugging at Weiss's hair, causing her to shriek in surprise while the younger girl giggled. "Since when?"

"Since I was four years old! Ballet, tap, and pointe!" Nora told her, looking back to Winter who was staring at her in shock. "I think I can handle another triple shot!"

"No," Winter said, intentionally standing in the way of the coffee machine. "Because I know just as well as you do that if you manage to take down another that you'll end up flying through the roof on your weapon."

"Who's going to be flying through the roof?" Qrow asked as he came into the room but rolled his eyes when he saw Nora's almost crazed expression. "Oh, right, her."

"I want to see that!" Yang declared, grabbing Nora by the wrist. "Nora, want me to blast the bottom of Magnhild so you can fly through the roof?"

"No, that's just dangerous," Qrow told her and Yang stuck out her lower lip and pouted though he didn't give in. "Yang, do you want to kill her?"

"Pffftt," Nora said, rolling her eyes. "Yang couldn't kill me if she tried."

"Want to find out?" Yang said, turning her eyes red and smirking. "Do you really want to fight?"

"Uh…" Nora stuttered as she looked around before shaking her head. "Why don't we...we should find something more tame to do. How about...cosplaying?"

"Cosplaying?" Oscar asked, though it was Ozpin who answered.

" _Let's just say that they did this more often than most at Beacon and, believe me, it led to more than a few... improvised dances,"_ Ozpin told him, recalling the end of the first semester. " _Team JNPR was particularly inclined towards cosplaying characters from television shows they had watched as children. Personally, my favourite was when they cosplayed as Mystery Inc. from Scooby Doo with Jaune as Shaggy, Pyrrha as Daphne, Ren as Fred, and Nora as Velma."_

"Oh," Oscar said, staring at everyone while they continued to debate. "That makes sense...I guess, maybe?"

"Qrow!" Winter exclaimed as he suddenly wrapped his arms around her from behind while she turned to face him. "What are you -"

"Well, I finally woke up," He told her with a shrug before kissing her. "And I missed my Ice Queen."

"Eeeeeek," Ruby squeaked out, burying her face in her cape. "Eeeeeeek."

From behind her, Weiss smacked the back of her head teasingly. "Calm down you dolt."

"Miss Schnee!" A man yelled from within the other room. "Everyone stand down!"

Beginning to shake as her eyes went wide, Weiss looked to her sister who was pulling her into her protectively while the others stared in shock as several burly men came into the room. Recognizing several of them as some of her father's guards, Weiss all but curled into Winter while she reached for her sword and gently pried her off of her. Briskly walking towards them, Winter forced herself to be steady as she pointed her sword at them and spoke, unsure if her father was there too. Out of the corner her eye, she could see that Qrow reaching for Harbinger while stepping in front of Weiss to protect her and Ruby had Crescent Rose in hand.

"What are you doing here?" Winter demanded and two of the guards looked to each other and laughed though her voice shook as she asked the second question. "Is...is my father here?"

"No," One of them replied. "But he sent us here for her. Had us track down the coordinates from her scroll the other night and -"

"Lay a finger to any of them and I'll end you," Qrow told them, with Harbinger now in hand and his other on Weiss's shoulder. "Believe me, I don't have a problem with doing so and I can imagine that Jimmy wouldn't fault Winter for doing the same."

"Qrow Branwen!" Winter snapped though she was relieved that he was trying to help. "Let me handle this!"

"We have orders to bring your sister back to Atlas," Another guard informed her. "And your father made that very clear."

"I don't give a damn what my father says," Winter told them, shifting her blade closer though she was terrified and knew that she wouldn't be able to actually kill any of them. "You are not taking my sister."

"Now, of course, we don't have to do it this way," The first said. "So Special Operative Schnee, if you would be so kind as to lower your weapon, we can propose a slight alternative."

Glancing back to Qrow and Weiss, Winter bit her lip before sighing and lowering her sword, attaching it to her side again. "What do you mean by a 'slight alternative'?"

The first guard met her gaze. "You and your sister willingly come back to the kingdom of Atlas and meet with your father to discuss your...deviations."

"That has to be some sort of joke," Qrow said with a glare. "I ain't letting that man anywhere near the two of them."

"Qrow, I -" Winter began before she stopped herself and glared at the guards again. "Fine, but on one condition."

"And what might that be?" The first guard snarled with a nasty grin.

Winter closed her eyes for a moment before sighing. "Qrow and the others come back to Atlas with us too, and, not not only that, when Weiss and I speak with our father that Qrow gets to be with us."

The guard laughed but nodded nonetheless. "Fine. I don't care as long as I keep this job."

Looking back to Qrow who was staring while the guards left the room, Winter half threw herself into him and let herself linger in his arms as they tightened around her. For several moments, they didn't say anything but when she finally spoke her voice was quiet. "I'm scared too."

"I don't want him to hurt you more," Qrow said, his rough voice unusually gentle. "Because I you deserve to be happy. I can't bear the idea of someone hurting you, much less me. So I promise, I'll do everything in my power to protect you while we're in Atlas, okay Snowflake?"

Winter nodded weakly and continued to cling to him. "I don't know what to do with my family, I really don't."

"Yes you do," Qrow told her, cupping her cheek. "Because Weiss is your family and, if you won't slap me for saying so, so am I. I love you."

"I love you, too, Branwen," Winter said, closing her eyes and letting her head fall onto his shoulder. "I just hope he doesn't -"

"Whatever happens, Win," Qrow said, kissing her gently. "I'm going to defend you even though I know you can do that for yourself. The last thing I want for you is pain."

"All of you!" One of the guards snapped, coming back into the room while Winter turned slightly in Qrow's arms to face them. "Transport. Now."

Team RNJR, Yang, Weiss, and Oscar shared a look before they all quickly went to gather their things for the trip to Atlas. Looking back to Winter and letting go of the glare he had been giving the guards, Qrow sighed. "I don't know the full extent of what that man did to you, but you don't have to tell me. Not unless you're ready."

"Later…" Winter told him with tears forming in her eyes against her will. "Later…"


	12. Chapter 12

_**March 3rd  
Schnee Family Manor;  
City Of Atlas; Atlas**_

Sharing a look with her sister, Weiss tried to force her hands to be steady as they walked into the expansive manor. Qrow rolled his eyes at how prominently displayed the Schnee family wealth was, but what bothered him even more was the noticeable physical tension that Winter carried not only in her shoulders but in her back and her hands. Weiss, in slight contrast, was not as visibly tense though her hands were shaking against her will and, the whole time they were walking, all he could think about was how Jacques deserved more than just a little bit of pain. After all, the man had not only stolen a company from under the feet of a dying man but he then went on to abuse his wife and children though Qrow knew just as well as Weiss and Winter that Whitley was, as of the current state of the Schnee family, the favoured child.

And that was something that pissed him off.

The reasoning that he provided himself with for this was simply that none of the Schnee children had asked for their parents to be the people they were and, beyond that, they also had not been born guilty of anything that Jacques might seem to think they were. It had occurred to him more than once that, perhaps, he should be less harsh to Winter about her work for James because he had, though she had never explicitly said so, figured out that though she joined the Atlas Military because she truly wanted to, she had a few other reasons. To him, one of those had to be an escape from her family, her incredibly broken family that she could do nothing about. For her to be powerless, he imagined, or to even feel such would have been and possibly still was dreadful. In this particular moment, he had a feeling that she was closer to feeling as if she was powerless than not. Biting back any sarcastic comments he held, Qrow tried to keep himself as restrained as possible as the three of them entered Jacques's study.

From behind his desk, the man looked up from the papers he was reading and immediately began to glare at Qrow who forced himself not to make an obscenely rude gesture at the man with his fingers. At the same time, Winter looked to him and he gently wrapped an arm around her waist when she didn't protest. Stepping forward, albeit shakily, Weiss tried to smile though she found that she couldn't. Instead, she tried to pass it off at an attempt at a more pleasant expression than the lip biting nerves that had been consuming her while Klein had escorted them to the man's study. Several moments passed in which Jacques took in the appearances of both of his daughters before settling on glaring at Qrow again. Not releasing his arm from around Winter, Qrow noticed one of her scars out of the corner of his eye and that was enough to only harden the glare that he had already been giving the man who was slowly turning away from him and instead looking to Weiss who appeared to grow more nervous by the second.

"Did you really think," Jacques started, his voice low. "That running away was going to do you any good? Did you really think that it was going to strengthen our family?"

"My family," Weiss muttered, causing him to raise an eyebrow and stare at her in both shock and anger. "Sorry, I -"

"Weiss Anna Schnee," Jacques snapped, and the girl tensed in response. "You act more like you're a petulant child and than a woman who will be -"

"I'm an adult in three weeks!" Weiss exclaimed though she began to feel sick when she saw the look he was giving her. "I...I...it's true, father, I -"

"I don't give a damn," Jacques told her and she bit her lip as he began to move towards her. "Your mother is just as disappointed in your behaviour -"

Weiss cut him off in shock. "Mother is -"

"Your mother is nothing more than an alcoholic," Jacques replied with a dark look in his eyes. "She has done nothing to help or raise you, your sister, and your brother -"

"Mother was perfectly fine, for the most part, until Weiss was ten," Winter snapped and Jacques turned to glare at her with that expression only narrowing when he saw that Qrow's arm was still wrapped tightly around her waist. "Furthermore -"

"Furthermore I'd like to know why Qrow Branwen of all people is even allowed to touch you," Jacques said and Winter tensed, letting Qrow pull her closer. "After all, he's several years older than you, he's a drunk, he's -"

"Well, she's my partner, what do you expect?" Qrow said with a smirk though slight fear rose in Winter's eyes when her father began to move towards her. "That's right, Gele, I'm involved with your daughter. Might I add that -"

"Qrow!" Winter snapped before he could say anything else and forcing herself to meet her father's gaze. "But he's right. Qrow is my partner."

Jacques looked ready to break something. "I beg your pardon?"

"Qrow and I have entered a…" Winter began slowly, trying to remain proper despite the words her mind was summoning being anything but proper. "For all intents and purposes, Qrow and I have entered a courtship."

Glaring first at Qrow but then his daughter, Jacques swiftly swung his hand across his eldest daughter's face before she or Qrow could stop him. "Absolutely not, no I will simply not have it."

"Well it wasn't as if I was planning on telling _you_ ," Winter snarled, carefully prying herself out of Qrow's tight, loving grasp. "Since when have you supported anything I've done? You cut me off and humiliated me when I joined the Atlesian Military and you beat all of us except for Whitley if we stepped even the faintest toe out of line. If I recall, when I was fourteen and Weiss was four and mother was pregnant with Whitley, you hit me multiple times when I declared that I wanted to train as a huntress -"

"That's hardly true," Jacques replied, crossing his arms. "You were the heiress and you were neglecting all of your duties as such because you had the most asinine dreams -"

"I wanted to save people!" Winter snapped. "I wanted to protect not only the kingdom of Atlas, but the people of the other kingdoms as well -"

"And it certainly didn't help that James stole you," Jacques said, walking away from her and back towards Weiss. "The ideas that that man put in your head only caused you to run off and divide this family even further than your mother had already been doing."

"Mother didn't divide this family!" Winter said, clenching her fists. "You did! Need I remind you that _you_ were the one who married into the family?"

"That is more than enough, Winter," Jacques snapped, his eyes widening when he looked at the time. "Now all of you, out. I have a meeting with James in a few minutes, hopefully one that will end in my favour, for once and I am really not in the mood to -"

Winter's eyes flared. "There's a reason the General doesn't trust you -"

"He doesn't trust anybody!" Jacques lamented, collapsing into the chair behind his desk. "Which truly does make it more difficult to get anything done. Now all of you, get out."

"But father, I -" Weiss began though Jacques sharply cut her off.

"Weiss Anna Schnee, you are already in a lot of trouble for running away and pulling the stunt that you did," Jacques told her with his voice low. "Mind that you don't make things worse for you."

"I'll be damned before then," Qrow said, walking up to the man's desk and slamming his fist against it. "Apart from the fact that I don't like you slapping my partner, your daughter, I really don't like what you've done. You've hurt both of your daughters and your wife in ways that I don't even like to think about. I've seen some of Winter's scars - scars you gave her - and believe me when I say this, _Gele_ : You aren't going to touch either of them if I can stop you. You know, as much as I hate the man, I wish that James had adopted Weiss - maybe then she would have had a happy childhood."

"I'd rather die than see James Ironwood attempt to be a parent," Jacques commented, almost amused by the idea. "Not that he and that...that Glynda Goodwitch could manage to raise a child together but I don't even think that they can have a child."

"Glynda and James would be more than just a damn sight better than you," Qrow told him. "Because they at least care about other people and wouldn't want to hurt their children."

"I doubt that James could look past his own issues to properly raise a disciplined child," Jacques said, almost scoffing at the idea of James Ironwood having a child. "To be honest, I'm shocked that he's engaged. I believe the wedding is in a few days, actually. How he managed what he did is beyond me."

"James and Glynda love each other," Qrow snapped, feeling odd at defending them though James more so than Glynda. "And I for one am happy for them."

"You?" Jacques demanded, a part of him ready to laugh. "Since when does Qrow Branwen know anything about or care about anything to do with love?"

"Whatever I know is more than what you seem to think you know," Qrow retorted. "Considering that the nature of your marriage drove your wife to alcoholism. You're a snake, Gele, and I hope you know that that is not admirable in the slightest."

"I have done everything in power to keep and increase my family's status," Jacques told him with his glare deepening. "Not that you have any status that would cause you to understand."

"I love Winter," Qrow said, his voice quieter than any of them had ever heard though it was filled with passion. "Whether or not you care, I love her."

"I love you too, Qrow," Winter murmured, wrapping her arm around him and glaring at her father. "I am going to continue along with my life and I am going to continue my work in the military whether or not you like it."

"Are you?" Jacques said, raising an eyebrow and implying a threat. "We shall see about that…"


	13. Chapter 13

_**March 9th  
City Of Atlas; Atlas  
Downtown**_

"Winter," Qrow said, watching her as she continued to get ready for work. "We still need to talk about this."

"Talk about what?" Winter asked him, sliding on her lighter coat as there was faint snow beginning to fall outside and she focused on that. "I thought we finished discussing my father last night -"

"Winter, he's holding threats over your head," Qrow told her and she sighed. "That doesn't bother you?"

"Of course it bothers me," Winter snapped, turning to look at him as she set her swords to her side. "I also know that he has nothing that he can use to threaten me with so that makes it an empty threat that he is making for the sole purpose of trying to scare me into doing his bidding."

"Are you afraid of him?" Qrow asked her and she hesitated, turning away. "Winter, it's alright if you are. He's done horrible things to you -"

"Yes, he did," Winter said, her eyes tearing in spite of herself. "And I...I'm not afraid of him! I'm an adult, I've made my own life and -"

"And your past is still a part of you," Qrow said as gently as he could, pulling her into him. "You have to accept that...just like I have."

Winter sighed. "Qrow, I know that -"

"Winter, I was raised by a group of murders and thieves who taught all of us that the best way through whatever problem we were faced with was to fight through it with force," Qrow chewed the inside of his cheek before shaking his head. "Win, I was raised terribly and I did things I'm not proud of...things that still haunt me but I...I've accepted them."

"Then explain your paranoia about your semblance," Winter snapped though a part of her regretted it when his face contorted in pain. "Well?"

"That's different," Qrow told her, looking at her seriously. "That has nothing to do with my choices or the way I was brought up, just like your semblance has nothing to do with -"

"It isn't different," Winter told him, wrenching her way out of his grasp as she began to walk out to her car though he followed her and sat down in the passenger seat even as she began to drive, letting out a low noise of irritation at him not shifting. Finally glancing at him, she spoke again though this time she forced herself to be more gentle. "Qrow, I don't know why you think that you hurt everyone you care about, but you don't. We all handle pain differently, but if you had truly accepted your past then you would have accepted your semblance too."

"My semblance isn't in my past, though," Qrow pointed out, noticing one of the scars below her ear when he looked at her. "It's something that's still a part of me and will be no matter what because my semblance is tied to my aura - the metaphysical expression of my being."

"Qrow, just because your semblance is misfortune doesn't mean that -" Winter began though he cut her off.

"Win, my aura and my semblance reflect me!" Qrow declared, forcing himself not to cry even though a part of him wanted to. "Snowflake, if I hurt you with my semblance then I would feel even worse than if I hurt my daughter for say -"

"Your daughter?" Winter demanded, pulling over to the curb in front of the Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council. "Qrow, what the hell are you talking about? You're not even that far into your thirties -"

"At twenty years old," Qrow began, shaking. "Sorry, it's just...it's been years since I talked to anyone about this and...and…"

"Qrow, what do you mean you have a daughter?" Winter asked him, more gently this time though tears were forming in her eyes. "Qrow if...if -"

"Her mother is dead...has been for years…" Qrow said as tears began to fall. "And, no, she doesn't know that she's my daughter. I don't know how to tell her, to be honest. I'm...I'm paranoid about my semblance because it killed her mother."

"Qrow -" Winter began, her voice taking on a dangerous edge and he sighed as he turned to face her, taking her hands in his.

"My sixteen year old daughter...she...she…" Qrow sighed and shook his head as she continued to look at him in confusion. "Sixteen years ago, I was with Summer Rose and we had a daughter… Ruby… and -"

"Ruby's your daughter?" Winter stared at him incredulously before she forced herself to speak. "No, no...Qrow, you're thirty six -"

"And when Summer and I went out on a mission she was killed in an accident," Qrow told her as she began to cry. "That's why I don't...I love kids, I would love to have a family with someone...maybe even you one day if that's where we end up but I am terrified about what I could do to them if they're the reason my daughter doesn't have a mother."

"Why the hell doesn't she know?" Winter asked him as she cried, angry with herself being bothered though she reminded herself that it wasn't as if she was the first person he had been involved with. "Qrow, why -"

"Because after her mother died, I ran," Qrow said, slight regret in his voice. "And I didn't come back for over year by which point Tai had already legally adopted her. "I...I am so sorry I didn't tell you, Winter, but I -"

"I love you, Qrow," She promised him, leaning her head onto his shoulder. "I swear I do...it's just...I…"

"It's a lot to take in," Qrow admitted with a sigh. "But you at least deserved to know."

"Qrow, I…" Winter bit her lip as she looked at him. "Are you ever going to tell her?"

Qrow hesitated before looking at her again. "To be honest, I'm not sure. I just don't really know how."

"Oh…" Winter sighed though she understood that this was difficult for him. "I…"

"I love you so much, Winter," Qrow swore, kissing her passionately and cupping her face in his hands. "I promise, I'm going to continue to love you but if this is too much -"

"It's not," She told him. "It's...off putting but I...you're still the same Qrow Branwen I love and…"

"I want you to be happy," Qrow said quietly. "I'll do anything to make you happy, really. I love you."

Winter nodded with tears in her eyes as she pushed him into the backseat and laid herself on top of him. "I love you too, Qrow…"

"Snowflake," Qrow said as she began to kiss him. "I -"

"Just shut up and take me," Winter told him with a weak smile. "You want to make me happy? Then show me that you love me?"

Qrow smirked as he pulled her into another passionate kiss. "You're interesting, aren't you Ice Queen?"

"Maybe…" Winter murmured though she was still feeling immensely conflicted despite her rationality.


	14. Chapter 14

_**March 17th  
City Of Atlas; Atlas  
Downtown**_

"You're going back?" James stared at her as she nodded weakly and continued to drink her coffee while he shook his head. "Glynda, you don't have to."

"Yes, I do," She said though she was feeling a little sick. "Port and Oobleck said that the structural repairs are complete and I, as headmistress, need to -"

"You don't need to do anything, not if it's going to upset you," James told her as she set down the coffee and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I just want you to be okay."

"And I will be but this is something I have to do," Sighing, Glynda let herself lean into him. "I'm nervous about this and -"

"Do you want me to come with you?" He asked her gently and she looked to him in surprise. "I'm serious, do you want me to?"

"You have things to do here," Glynda reminded him and he bit his lip. "You can't give up on whatever it is you have to do in Atlas for me. Atlas Academy is going back into session in about a week, the council is still...well it's the Atlesian Council, and you've got various other things to do for the military."

"I can take a few days off to be with you if that's what you want," James promised and she groaned. "I mean that. I know that you're only going to be gone for a few days but -"

"As flattered as I am that you're so concerned about me, I'll be alright," Glynda said and her voice implied that that was the last she wanted to hear of it. "It's not going to be as horrible as you think it will. That's not to say that it's going to be the most enjoyable thing I've ever done, but I still have to."

"You really are stubborn, aren't you?" James smiled as he drew her closer. "It's alright, I am too."

"You always have been, or am I forgetting our time at Atlas Academy?" Glynda said as she kissed him. "Well?"

"I was abrasive," James admitted and she laughed. "Not that you weren't."

"Which might of been why neither of us had many friends," Glynda rolled her eyes at the memory. "I was just relieved that our social lives got better after Atlas Academy...even if our personal relationship suffered."

"I shouldn't have left," James said quietly and she rested her head on his shoulder while he held her close. "I should have tried -"

"It wasn't just your fault, it was mine too," Glynda reminded him gently. "Though Ozpin's war really hasn't helped any of us."

"It killed Summer Rose, which not only broke Qrow but caused Raven to walk away from her husband and daughter which caused him more pain than I think he's willing to admit," James agreed with a sigh. "And it allowed us to find petty differences to keep us further apart."

"We were too young," Glynda told him. "Too young, and too bold for our own good. That's part of it too...though I wish we hadn't tried to transfer the power to Miss Nikos."

"Not you," James said, trying to push away the thought because he knew what she was implying and what she had tried to do. "Glynda, if we had tried that and it had killed you -"

"If we had tried that months before and succeeded then maybe she would still be alive and Cinder would be dead!" Glynda protested, still in horror of the deaths that had occured at the fall. "Maybe Beacon wouldn't have fallen…"

"Or I could have lost you," James said, bringing her closer to him. "The last thing I want is to lose you, Glyns. I married you and I -"

"I love you," Glynda promised him, pressing her lips against his passionately. "I love you so much, James, and -"

"...You two alright or do I need to bust down the door because there's a murderer in there?" Qrow asked through the door and both James and Glynda Ironwood groaned. "Because we need to talk about Oz."

Taking her crop in hand and glaring at him as she opened the door, Glynda crossed her arms as he shrugged and let himself in. "Do you have any sense of privacy?"

"Eh, I could ask you two the same thing because of the elevator," Qrow replied as he pulled out his flask. "And, anyways, Oz says that we need to all go to Mistral - Haven Academy."

"Why?" Glynda demanded and he rolled his eyes. "Qrow -"

"Because I got word the other day, from my sister of all people, that Cinder's planning to attack Haven with the White Fang," Qrow told her irritably. "Some of her tribe's members went out on a scouting mission or something like that and they overheard the plans. Supposedly, it also involves the Spring Maiden -"

"What?" Glynda looked at him in surprise before sharing a look of concern with James.

"Raven has the Spring Maiden, that's why she's scared," Qrow told them and he sighed. "Not that the Winter Maiden is doing well."

"Willow?" James and Glynda looked at him oddly before he went on. "Qrow, the hell are you talking about?"

"The exact thing that is causing Winter so much distress in the last few days," Qrow said, his worry for Winter resurfacing. "Willow made another suicide attempt and is currently in the hospital...but she lost a lot of blood and no one's quite sure if she's going to live. Chances are...she won't. Right now, she's comatose."

"Willow's comatose?" Glynda took in a sharp breath and tried to be calm though she was concerned for her friend. "No -"

"Qrow…" Winter stormed into the apartment though she stopped when she noticed James and Glynda. "General Ironwood, sir, I -"

"It's fine, Winter," James said tiredly. "Go ahead and sit down, I know you're still worried about your mother."

"Qrow!" Winter exclaimed, looking at him before thrusting his scroll at him. "Why did you tell them? I told you to -"

"Winter, it's more complicated than that," Qrow told her and she shook.

"Oh, so like Ruby? If you told me that, then why can't you -"

"What about Ruby?" Glynda asked, looking between the two of them in confusion before shaking her head and looking to Winter. "Nevermind. Look, Winter, if we -"

"Glynda, are you sure that we should -" James started but she cut him off.

"To be honest, I'm shocked Qrow hasn't told her by now, considering that she knows about Ozpin and the maidens and Salem."

"Told me what?" Winter demanded, looking to Qrow who sat down next to her and, hesitantly, wrapped an arm around her.

"Win, I...you remember me telling you about the maidens, right?"

Winter nodded. "I didn't believe you at first."

"I laughed when Oz first told me," Qrow admitted. "But...but I never told you the identities of the maidens beyond Cinder being the Fall Maiden. We know that my sister has the Spring Maiden...but we also know the exact location of the Winter Maiden because...because she's your mother."

"What?" Winter stared at him in shock and he sighed. "My mother...is...is a maiden?"

"She's been a maiden for the last twenty years," Glynda informed her, trying to be emotionless. "And she's afraid of her powers, which is why she hasn't developed them."

"Does my father know?" Winter asked and James shook his head.

"No, which I, and I hate saying this to you, think is a relief, considering his drive for power."

"The next time he hurts you, or Weiss, or even your shithead brother," Qrow said, kissing Winter deeply and not caring that Glynda and James were in the room. "That's when I'll finally beat him like he deserves."

"Qrow -" Winter started though she sighed heavily when she the look on his face. "I love you...I...I'm not sure what we're...where we're going, but I love you."

"I love you too, Winter," Qrow promised, kissing her again. "I'm not going to keep any more secrets from you and...and I'm going to protect you. I love you so much, and we're going to find a way to make this work - even if it's difficult at times."

"I know," Winter said, curling into him and putting her fears aside for the moment. "I love you too much."

"No," Qrow said. "That's me, that's why I'm afraid of hurting you...or at least a major part of why."


	15. Chapter 15

_**March 20th  
City Of Atlas; Atlas  
Downtown**_

"We're going back to Mistral?" Nora asked, a slight bounce in her step as she reached for Magnhild. "I think that means we get to kick some butt!"

"Nora, calm down," Winter said, and Qrow rolled his eyes, knowing that would never work. "We're not leaving quite yet, and-"

"Listen, all of you," Qrow said, sharing a look with her that she knew meant he was going to finally say it. "I just...before we head to Mistral there's someone we need to...well that I need to, regrettably, introduce you all too. Or in Yang and Weiss's case…"

"Qrow, what are you talking about?" Yang asked, staring at him in confusion while he pulled out his flask. "Who -"

"Weiss, don't get aggressive," Qrow told her, and the former heiress crossed her arms.

"That depends on who we're talking about," Weiss informed him, and Winter sighed.

"Weiss, please listen to him."

"But Winter -"

"Weiss," Winter started, her voice slowly becoming dangerous. "I mean it. No being aggressive, we don't need to make this situation any worse than it already is."

"And she's pissed that I contacted her two days ago and insisted that she leave Anima to come here," Qrow added, feeling a little more irritable than usual. "But believe me, I'm not any more thrilled about this than she is."

"Who is 'she'?" Yang repeated her earlier question though he didn't answer and rather led them into another room. "I -"

"Took you long enough," Raven snapped, crossing her arms as her brother, daughter, and the others came into the room. "What were you doing, explaining to them how I'm dangerous and don't understand -"

"You're afraid, I know you are," Qrow said, and she didn't respond, settling for a glare. "And you're running away from Cinder and her posse."

"I need to protect my tribe, and I would prefer to stay as uninvolved in this little 'war' that you're fighting for Ozpin as much as possible," Raven reminded him. "I'm only here for the sake of the tribe, because I know that Salem will do anything for the Spring Maiden -"

"By the way, which member of your tribe is it?" Qrow asked, and she looked away. "Or are you just going to do what you've always done and keep secrets?"

"I have no choice, it's for her own protection," Raven said, and he rolled his eyes.

"You mean your protection, because you don't want anyone to get to your quote un quote secret weapon," Qrow said, and she snapped her head to give him another glare. "Because to have a maiden on your side helps you and your little band of killers and thieves -"

"For the record, Qrow, I don't trust you much more than I trust Cinder," Raven informed him angrily, her red eyes flaring though she stopped herself from accidentally using her powers as the Spring Maiden. "I'm only here because I trust my daughter, and she was the one who sent me the message, saying that she -"

"I do want to try and have a better relationship with you," Yang told her, and Raven sighed, knowing that she wasn't lying. "You're still my mom...even if you abandoned me, and I'm going to give you a chance so long as you don't fight for her."

"Do I look like I want to fight for anyone except for my tribe?" Raven snapped, and they all stared at her. "Well?"

"Shut up, Raven, just tell us what you know about this plot against Haven," Qrow told her, and she slapped him before she tried to start, though Winter glared at her.

"That was completely uncalled for, Raven," Winter said, and the older woman flicked her hair over her shoulder and rolled her eyes.

"Let me guess," Raven said, noticing her take Qrow's hand as he began to grow angry with her. "You are, despite being clearly a Schnee like your sister, his partner, and you -"

"Yes, and please tell us what you know," Winter said, narrowing her eyes. "None of us have time for you to be playing a game -"

"Fine," Raven said, beginning to pace with her arms crossed once again. "One of my tribe members was sent out on a scouting mission, and they overheard her talking to those two children within a little less than six kilometres from camp. According to my scout, they're planning an assault on Haven Academy with the White Fang, similar to what they did to Beacon, but they knew that I have the Spring Maiden which was why they were going to track us down and force us to side with them. Frankly, I want nothing to do with those children she's tricked, or that disgraced scientist, or with her herself - especially because she's the Fall Maiden...though I would also say that her surname is so appropriate that she must have picked it herself -"

"Raven -" Qrow growled, and she cut him off.

"You were the one who wanted me to talk, so let me talk," Raven told him, and he relented though not without wrapping an arm around Winter and drawing her close. "The point is, the tribe is currently in hiding and I'm here because I have basically no choice -"

"What do they need the Spring Maiden for?" Winter demanded, and the woman groaned.

"Ugh, seriously, I was not kidding when I said that family only comes around when they need -"

"You know, it's really obnoxious that you mention family when you were the one who abandoned your own daughter and -" Qrow started, and she glowered before shaking her head.

"And you didn't do the same thing?" Raven challenged, sending a cursory look towards Ruby that caused her to stare at both Raven and Qrow in confusion.

"Raven, what are you talking about?" The girl asked, and Winter tensed in Qrow's arms. "I -"

"You still haven't told her after all this time?" Raven looked at her brother with disdain. "Honestly, at least my daughter knows she's my daughter."

"Mom, Ruby is my sister," Yang said fiercely, though her voice wavered when her mother turned to her with a look of genuine sympathy. "Mom, how could she not -"

"Because Ruby is Qrow and Summer Rose's child!" Raven snapped, and Ruby took a step back, biting her lip, unsure of what to think of the situation. "And if you don't trust me, then ask your father."

"Can we please focus on -" Winter started but Raven quickly cut her off.

"Winter, to answer your question, they want the Spring Maiden to gain the Relic," Raven said before turning back to her brother with her hands on her hips. "And I'm going to assume that you told your partner but not your own daughter, because the former is not surprised."

"Raven, what is wrong with you?" Qrow demanded, and she looked away. "How -"

"Nothing that hasn't been wrong with me for years, or would you like to remind me once again of the things I've done wrong in my life?" Raven asked, still not looking at him. "Because I'm...I'm not here for you or your cause."

"Then why are you here?" Qrow demanded, and Raven looked up to meet her daughter's gaze as her lilac eyes turned to red.

"I'm here because I want to have a better relationship with my daughter," Raven said, almost embarrassed to admit it. "And I...after this, I'm going to visit Tai."

"Mom, do you still love him?" Yang asked, and Raven didn't respond. "Mom?"

"Yes," Raven finally admitted after a moment of heavy silence. "And...I'm sorry, Yang…"

"Me too…" Yang said through tears that were rising against her will. "Me too…"


	16. Chapter 16

_**March 21st  
City Of Atlas; Atlas  
Downtown**_

"I hate her," Winter said as she slammed more clothes into her suitcase. "I don't care what anyone has to say about it. I hate her."

"It's okay," Qrow said, shrugging. "I hate her too."

Winter turned around and stared at him for a moment before sighing. "I know why she's here, and I don't deny that she's useful...but she's such a bitch!"

"Yes, that would be my sister for you," Qrow said, setting down his flask as he came over to her side. "Is something else bugging you?"

"Well, maybe a little," She admitted. "The truth is, I can't believe she told Ruby that…"

"That I'm her father?" Qrow suggested gently, cupping her cheek in his hand. "Winter, are you bothered by that?"

"No," Winter said, mostly convinced though it was a little odd to her if she thought about it for too long. "I'm bothered by how heartless and insensitive that was for Ruby. Not to mention...nevermind."

"What is it, Winter?" Qrow asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "You can tell me."

"I'm worried about what my father is going to do to Weiss," She told him after a very long pause. "I don't care that we're, in effect, sneaking her out of the kingdom with us. He's -"

"Not going to be a problem," Qrow assured her, causing her to raise an eyebrow. "You know why?"

"Why?" She asked, genuinely curious. "He's -"

"In hot water," Qrow said, clicking his tongue as he started to put clothes into his own bag. "I know that because I've got some friends who know people on the council. Turns out that he might...well, that he might be in trouble for the way he's treated you, your mother, and Weiss."

Winter stared at him. "Please don't tell me you filed a -"

"Of course not, that's your choice," Qrow said, pulling her into him. "I didn't file a report...but I guess your mother or someone at the manor must have gotten fed up and did."

Winter sighed. "So what does that mean."

"It means that there's going to be an investigation and trial," Qrow said seriously. "Or there at least should be if there's going to be any justice in this world."

"Oh my god," Winter said, more surprised than anything else. "That's...that's more than I ever expected to happen."

"Jimmy could have a part in it," Qrow admitted after a moment of hesitation. "Or at least I think so. I know that you trust him, and I wouldn't be surprised if the two of you have had conversations before about your life outside of the military."

Winter looked up at him in shock. "The General and I have a strictly professional relationship, and he -"

"Glynda also seems to know an odd amount about you and your life," Qrow added, and she groaned. "I'm just saying."

Winter looked away as she sat down on their bed. "Glynda may be several years older than me, but she and I get along better than perhaps one would expect. I have spent most of my time working in Atlas for General Ironwood, but whenever I've been given orders to Vale she's been there for me and she and I are...I wouldn't quite say friends, but we're close -"

"Winter, you don't have to be afraid to admit that we're friends," Glynda said, leaning in the doorway before she sent Qrow a sharp look. "And, as for you, I think you need to get over yourself. At least you've been drinking less, though. It's less obnoxious."

"You have more in common with Raven than you think if that's what you think about my drinking," Qrow said, and she sent him a glare. "Raven's been saying for years that my drinking is obnoxious."

"Well, Raven may not be my favourite person but she's not wrong about that," Glynda said, crossing her arms with her crop in hand. "Now, this isn't my only question but, speaking of Raven, why is she downstairs?"

"Because we're going to Haven to stop Cinder from taking it with the White Fang like she did to Beacon…" Qrow trailed off, suddenly realising that that was insensitive when he saw her flinch. "I… listen to me, Glynda. You and I don't always get along, but I don't want to hurt you...or anyone."

Glynda sighed. "I know that you don't ever _intend_ to but...okay, for one thing, why is Miss Rose, _your niece_ , downstairs looking like she's about to cry?"

Qrow glanced at his flask before he sat down next Winter and wrapped an arm around her. "Look, Glynda, you may or may not be surprised about this but Ruby is my _daughter_ , and not my niece."

Glynda looked like she was going to fall over out of shock. "Miss Rose is _what_? I thought that Taiyang and Summer Rose -"

"Look, Tai was and is a flirt, but Raven leaving him was devastating," Qrow said, trying to explain it as best he could. "And Summer was close with him, and she did help comfort him...but she and I were in love.

"A few months after Raven left, which was shortly after Yang turned a year old, Summer got pregnant with Ruby, and it wasn't because she had been with Tai. It was because of me...and I was terrified beyond belief that I was going to destroy our child's life, and, in a sense, I've done that. I wasn't going to tell Ruby because I ran away for a while after she was born and I can't tell you how ashamed of myself I am for that.

"That was how I processed her mother's death. The point is, Raven's a complete and utter bitch, and she told Ruby the truth literally yesterday. Of course she's devastated, she just found out that her 'father' is her uncle, and that her 'uncle' is her father. She's sixteen years old, and she's just learned that a major part of her life was all a damn life."

Glynda was unusually silent for over a minute before she spoke. "That's...that's shocking."

"What's shocking?" James asked her as he came into the room, wrapping an arm around her waist.

Glynda sent Qrow a sharp look. "Are you really going to keep this a secret from the rest of the group?"

Qrow scowled for a brief moment at her before he shifted it to Ironwood. "Listen to me, Jimmy, if you get in my face and tell me that I've screwed over her life, I might actually kill you."

James stared at him for a moment, raising an eyebrow. "Why would I tell you that you screwed over someone's life? Because I highly doubt you've managed to do that."

"What a vote of confidence," Qrow said, rolling his eyes though he stopped when he saw the look Winter was giving him. "Look, I just told your wife that Ruby is my daughter, and she's a bit shocked by that fact -"

"Ruby Rose is your daughter?" James struggled with speaking for a moment. "You...oh my god."

"And you're making me feel so much better for not telling her and letting my sister practically shout it at her yesterday," Qrow snapped. "And, no, I'm not joking about that either. Raven actually -"

"That sounds about right for her," James said, and Qrow nodded.

"At least you recognise that. But, look, I know that you probably have something you want to tell Winter -"

Winter stood up rather suddenly. "General Ironwood, sir, if you need to -"

"Later, Schnee," James told her gently. "I already know about your mission and I primarily just want you to be careful."

"Thank you, sir," Winter said, glancing at Qrow. "And I'm sorry that -"

"If you're going to say Qrow," Glynda started, restraining herself from laughing. "Believe me, James and I are more than familiar with him. We'll leave you two alone for now, alright?"

Winter smiled lightly. "Thanks, Glynda."

Qrow waited until they were gone to shut the door and pull her into him again. "Winter, I know this is a lot to deal with and I'm sorry if it's hard for you -"

"Qrow, don't feel bad about this," Winter said, sighing. "I can imagine that it's not easy dealing with the guilt that you must feel...or at least keep implying that you feel."

"You've got me fairly well figured out," Qrow said, kissing her gently. "And you're sure that you still want me?"

Winter nodded. "Of course I still want you. I just also want things to be alright."

"You know something," Qrow said with a slight smirk. "There's a part of me that wants to be around when Raven shows up in Patch in a few weeks and tells Tai that she still loves him...but there's also a part of me that really, really doesn't want to be around during that. He's going to either be ecstatic, or pissed, or both."

"Does Tai still have feelings for her?" Winter asked him, and he nodded.

"He's said so fairly recently, actually," Qrow admitted. "And he also said he's happy for us."

Winter smiled. "That's good to hear. Hopefully my mother won't be annoyed about it. I know my father...well, we both know that my father hates that we're involved."

"Jacques's an ass, but he's an ass who is going to likely get sent off to prison soon," Qrow said. "See, he's going to have to pay for _his_ sins, rather than forcing you, your mother, and your siblings to. At the very least, there's something to be said for the fact that someone brought his actions to light."

"I really am curious to know who did that," Winter agreed, leaning into him. "That's going to be especially true if he does get convicted by the prosecutors on working for the state department."

"Atlesian politics are so complicated," Qrow said, shaking his head. "With all of the departments, and the military, and Atlas Academy, and, of course, the fights with corporations but also for them because they're necessary because the Schnee Dust Company is -"

"I know, I know," Winter said, suddenly pressing her lips against his. "Although I'm not sure which one of us it will go to, with Whitley being underage."

"It's probably going to go to you," Qrow said, and she started to laugh.

"Listen, Qrow," Winter finally said, regaining her composure. "I never wanted to run the SDC and still don't. I think Weiss should, and I sincerely hope it goes to her. And it might. After all, I suppose maybe it is a brand new dawn."


	17. Chapter 17

_**March 23rd  
**_ _ **City Of Mistral; Mistral  
**_ _ **8:34 PM**_

"I know that we just got here, but could you be any less efficient?" Raven snapped at primarily her brother. "I know that might be a -"

"Shut up," Qrow said, glaring at his sister. "We're only keeping you around because the chances are that we'll need you, especially if Cinder actually shows."

"You'd be lost without me," She replied, crossing her arms. "And you need me, my plan, and my information."

"You're so called plan likely ends in you running away as soon as this gets too difficult," Qrow shook his head. "Isn't that what you always do?"

"Qrow, we need to talk," Winter said, placing a hand on his shoulder and then sending Raven a glare. "Alone, if you don't mind."

"Oh, what is it?" Raven asked her, rolling her eyes. "Did you just find out that you're pregnant because my brother somehow isn't sterile?"

"No," Winter hissed. "It has to do with you."

"Of course it does," Raven muttered. "And I suppose that my brother has said any number of flattering things about me?"

"Alright, let me put it this way," Qrow said, taking his partner's hand. "You're a bitch, Raven. I can't imagine Tai wanting anything to do with you."

"Uh..." Ruby said awkwardly as she came into the room and all of the adults turned to look at her. "Uh...actually...I changed my mind. I don't -"

Raven came over to her and snatched her towards the other two by the wrist. "And you're much better? Ruining this poor girl's life?"

Ruby grimaced. "Raven, you're squeezing my wrist kind of tight..."

She lightened her grip slightly. "I may have left Tai with Yang, but you might as well have done the same thing with Ruby."

Qrow stared at her in horror. "I never...I was there for her during her childhood -"

"As her lovely uncle Qrow," Raven reminded him. "Not as her father, which is what you are. And is what I tried to make you see at the time."

Winter looked at Qrow in slight confusion. "What?"

"After Summer died on a mission that she and I went on together about...three months after having Ruby," Qrow said, sighing heavily. "My semblance caused an accident that resulted in her death. I...I couldn't bring myself to go back because I thought that Tai would blame me so I went back to the only thing that I knew. The tribe."

"Ha," Raven said, finally relaeasing Ruby fully and crossing her arms. "You aren't perfect, and you know it."

"I at least stayed in her life," Qrow spat. "That's better than you can claim."

"Yang and I are making things better," She countered, her eyes flaring. "And -"

"I can barely imagine how Tai's going to react when he sees your face again," Qrow shook his head. "He's going to yell at you for leaving, he's going to -"

Raven slapped him hard enough to activate his aura. "Shut up! What do you know about -"

"Raven, calm down," Winter said, glaring at her while the others continued their game of cards in the other room. "You both made mistakes, but Qrow -"

"You'll defend him because he sleeps with you," Raven snapped. "And either I'm losing my mind or you -"

"Mom?" Yang said, poking her head into the room. "Hey, can we talk for a moment?"

"Excellent timing," She muttered.

"Please?" Yang asked, her lilac eyes wide. "Pretty please?"

Raven raised an eyebrow. "You're acting strange."

"Well..." Yang said almost sheepishly, rubbing her arm. "When we left late on the twenty first...I kind of contacted someone because of the talk we had the day you told us about what happened."

Raven stared at her. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Me," Tai said, grinning as he stepped into the room even with Yang's scowl following him. "She said you wanted to talk and that you were doing the right thing."

Raven sent their daughter a glare. "This isn't funny."

"I wasn't trying to be," Yang said silkily, leaning against the door. "Oh, and, dad? Winter and Qrow are together, FYI."

Tai looked at Qrow, and the way he had wrapped an arm around Winter. "I can kinda tell, thanks Yang."

"Hey, d - Tai..." Ruby stammered, then scurrying off. "We can all talk later, okay, bye."

Tai looked to Qrow. "You told her."

"Your wife told her," Qrow replied.

"Raven and I seperated -" Tai reminded him.

"But you two never officially divorced," He pointed out. "The two of you are still legally married."

Raven and Tai stared at each other for a moment, and then she sighed.

"I don't want a divorce, if that's what you're thinking," She said, and he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"You leaving when Yang was a baby suggested otherwise," He said darkly, though it was hard not to give into the familiar desire that was bubbling up in him as he realised that he honestly still did love her. "Or did you think you were going on a vacation?"

Raven sent him a glare similar to the one she'd given their daughter. "I made a mistake...but that doesn't mean that I don't love you."

"Raven, why did you leave?" He asked her, sounding tired. "Hell, why didn't you take me and Yang with you."

She bit her lip. "Tai, if I had done that...my mother was still the leader of the tribe at the time I left."

"She wasn't dead?" Qrow stared at her, incredulous. "I thought -"

"Not relating," Raven said, going on without another word on the subject. "Tai, if I had done that then she would have thought of the two of you as my weakness. As a way to get whatever she wanted out of me."

Tai stared. "Raven..."

"If you think I'm lying, if you think I'm lying about loving you..." Raven pulled a small chain off from around her neck, otherwise by her clothes. "I've never taken this off."

Tai looked at that the chain and then to the ring dangling from it. "That's your wedding ring. You...you kept it?"

Raven sighed, but nodded. "Yes, I kept it."

"You...you do love me, don't you?" He brushed a rogue tear away from his eyes. "Raven, I -"

"I'm sorry," She said, taking a step closer to him. "I'm sorry for everything, and I want...I love you, and I want us to have a second chance."

Tai hesitated, but nodded. "You mean that? No secrets, no games?"

Raven wrapped her arms tightly around him suddenly. "Yes."

"I..." Tai said as he got past the surprise and returned her embrace. "I love you too."

"We're going to leave the two of you alone," Winter said, motioning Qrow to follow her into a small room which they were sharing for the next week and a half that were to be in Mistral. "I -"

"That was surprisingly touching," Qrow said as he shut the door behind them. "Although I'm not sure that it's going to work out."

Winter shrugged. "Did people think that we were going to work out?"

"No," Qrow admitted. "Then again, we're still sorting through things in our relationship."

"I know," Winter said, probing her forehead. "And there's this damn fight with Cinder that we have to keep in mind."

"Winter," Qrow said as she walked over to the window and stared out into the early night. "You could have anyone in Remnant that you want, but you want me. Why is that?"

She sighed, her fingers tapping against the window sill. "I chose you because you're not like other people. It sounds...ridiculously chessy, but you're special.

"Qrow, you treat me well, you like me for the person I am, you're concerned for the members of my family...that deserve it, I suppose...and you...I don't even know how to describe it. Maybe it's how straightforward you generally are.

"I was surprised that you're Ruby's father, and I'm definitely surprised that you went back to the tribe after Sumemr Rose's death but I can, to an extent, understand why.

"After my first mission went...rather badly...I considered going back home, and taking back up my role as heiress. Doing everything that my father said to when he said to. But I didn't. You know why?"

"Because you couldn't bear the thought of bending to the man that the only good thing that can be said about him is that he took part in creating you?" Qrow asked, and she shook her head.

"Well, in part...I suppose," She said. "But it was mainly because I couldn't make myself give up. I couldn't make myself take the easy way out. You've made msitakes, Qrow, but you've always owned up to them in some way or another. You don't let others take the fall for you."

"My semblance -" He aruged.

"I don't care," She said, turning to face him. "And I personally don't think that you're semblance killed Summer Rose. You said she was -"

"Killed by one of Salem's agents, but that never would have happened if it weren't for that damned accident that wounded her so severly -" Qrow protested, but stopped as she pressed her soft hand to his cheek.

"Qrow," Winter said gently. "That wasn't your fault. None of it is your fault. I know you think it is, but it isn't. Can you and will you trust me?"

Qrow stared at her for a moment and then kissed her softly. "I trust you."

She smiled and kissed him again. "So do I...and I love you, Qrow."

"I love you," He whispered as he pulled her in tightly and the moonlight played softly on her skin. "I love you more than I can say."

"Then don't say it," She murmured.

He gave her a half smile just before his lips crashed down on hers. "Don't worry, I won't."


	18. Chapter 18

_**March 25th  
**_ _ **City Of Mistral  
**_ _ **Mistral  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **6:27 PM**_

"I think we need to talk about tomorrow," Winter said, twisting her hair in her hands and sighing as Qrow continued to stare out the window. "Qrow, really."

He sighed. "I know."

"So then why don't we?" She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. "Qrow, what's bothering you?"

"That depends," He said. "Could be anything."

Winter rolled her eyes. "Qrow -"

"Listen," He said, finally turning to face her. "I'm not feeling detached because of you, so if you think it's that then you're wrong."

"I knew that," She said, crossing her arms. "So then -"

"Honestly, it's that I'm still angry with Raven, I'm worried about my daughter, and, to be perfectly honest, I'm irritated that Tai is willing to have anything to do with her," Qrow shook his head. "It's irrational, but -"

"To be honest, I can't blame you," She said, coming over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Raven had no right to tell Ruby what she did and I can see why that bothers you. I can also understand why you're worried about Ruby, and also that you're still angry with Raven for turning her back on Ozpin. As for Tai...well, really, I was shocked he wanted anything to do with her."

"Me too," Qrow pulled out his flask and took a long sip. "I thought, after how horribly she broke his heart, that he would hate her."

"No one could have blamed him," Winter hesitated before going on. "Didn't Yang think Summer was her mother for the longest time?"

"She did," Qrow admitted. "She thought that until she was six years old and Tai finally found the courage to tell her the truth. Led to some nasty things that I'd rather not get into, though."

Winter raised an eyebrow but then sighed. "Okay."

"I just wish that this wasn't so convoluted," He said, glancing out at the slowly darkening sky. "And I also wish that things weren't so dangerous, that we didn't have to fight this war against Salem. If things could be more peaceful, maybe you and I could have more than this..."

"It will get better," She said although she was unsure. "Right now we should only be concerned about dealing with Cinder."

"I suppose you're right," He said, wrapping an arm gently around her waist. "I just don't want this fight to end in losing more people."

"None of us do," She said, resting her head on his shoulder. "Qrow, you and I both know that if that happened that it would be hard on all of us."

He was silent for a long moment and then spoke. "You know, I was shocked that Jimmy let you go with us on this mission. Atlas' relations with the other kingdoms aren't exactly at a high point right now, and because you're a Schnee everyone knows that not only are you from Atlas but you're _Winter_ Schnee, the one who left to join the military."

Winter groaned. "Qrow, I'm not in the mood for you to throw jabs at General Ironwood."

"How come?" He asked her with a smirk. "Is it because it makes me all the more endearing to you? You know, 'cause I can say basically anything like that and not care?"

"That's not true," She said, rolling her eyes. "You care more than you would like to admit."

"Well, I suppose since he's part of the group that I have to give him some credit," Qrow grinned as he kissed her cheek. "But he'll lose that if you get harmed in your job."

Winter scowled. "If you want to go with that logic, then I should feel the same way about _Ozpin_ when you get hurt."

Qrow shrugged. "Whatever makes you happy, Win."

She blushed. "Qrow!"

"I mean that," He said as he gave her a gentle squeeze. "I'm happy to do anything for you if it will make you happy."

Winter rolled her eyes. "You're impossible."

"Sure," He said. "But you love me."

"Yes, I love you," She said, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "But you don't have to be so dramatic."

"I'm not dramatic," He protested. "Really, I'm not."

An almost sharp knock was heard against the door.

"Raven -" Qrow started, irritably expecting his sister but his eyes widened in surprise when he saw, instead, his brother in law. "Tai?"

"Can we talk?" He asked him, and Qrow nodded. "Good."

"Let me guess," He said as Tai shut the door behind him as quietly as he could. "This has to do with my sister."

"Not everything is about Raven," Tai said, crossing his arms. "It's about...well, I'm kind of confused by Oz right now."

"Oz was killed during the Fall and he reincarnated into Oscar," Qrow said, and Tai sighed. "You should know that."

"No, I mean why he's been oddly silent on all of this when we've asked questions," Tai shook his head. "It almost seems like he's keeping something from us."

Qrow shrugged. "Look, Tai, since when is Oz not keeping things from us? If we need to know something, he'll tell us. Just don't listen to Raven if she calls you a fool for trusting him."

"You know I've never agreed with her on that," Tai was silent for a moment before glancing to Winter. "I'm glad you two are happy."

"Lighter note?" Winter smiled as Tai started laughing. "We are, don't worry."

"So," Tai said with only slight hesitation. "Where exactly are we headed after tomorrow?"

"Back to Atlas," Qrow said almost grudgingly. "We're going to take Cinder out, and then we're heading back to Atlas. You and I both know James is going to be pissed off if we take any of the seven thousand detours I can think of."

"Here we go again..." Winter muttered.

"Hey," Qrow said, kissing her forehead. "You don't have to worry. He's almost always annoyed with me anyways."

"I'm pretty sure that goes a long way back," Tai said, rolling his eyes. "Or have you two not been at each other's throats for the better part of the last ten years?"

Qrow shrugged. "How ever you want to think of it."

Winter sighed. "At least try to play nice when we get back to Atlas."

Qrow smirked. "Win, I'm the one that plays nice."

She raised an eyebrow. "Prove it."

He grinned at the challenge. "With you or with anyone?"

"You already do with me," She replied and he suddenly pressed a swift kiss to her lips.

"That's right," He said with a smile. "I do."


	19. Chapter 19

_**March 28th  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
9:45 PM**_

"You look exhausted," Glynda commented as her husband stepped into their room where she was reading a book. "Something happen with the Council?"

"Surprisingly, no," He said, sighing. "Actually, I received an interesting report from Qrow."

Glynda raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

James sighed. "While he says that things at Haven turned out alright for them, it turns out that Leo's dead -"

"What?" Glynda stared at him. "How the hell did that happen?"

"He didn't say," James said, hesitating as he went on. "Although he did say that Tai showed up shortly before the fight and that Tai and Raven appear to be involved again."

Glynda crossed her arms as she stood up. "My shock knows no bounds."

"I can't quite tell if you're being sarcastic or not," James said with a smile. "But either way you're right."

"How often is it that I'm not right?" She asked him teasingly.

James wrapped his arms tightly around her. "Not often. They'll be back in a few days."

Glynda nodded. "Alright."

James was quiet for a moment as he held her tightly in his arms. "How long are you going be to staying in Atlas?"

"A few more days," She said, hesitating as she went on. "I'm going to be in Vale for the next several weeks...but there's something we need to discuss first."

James raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong, Glyns?"

Glynda shook her head. "No, of course not. I just figured that it would be important for us to discuss this. It is rather shocking, and I'm terrified to no end."

James gently pressed his natural hand to her cheek. "Are you alright?"

"Yes and no," She said, hesitating for a long moment. "Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be alarming but these aren't normal circumstances."

James stared at her. "Glyns, what is it?"

Glynda bit her lip and adjusted her glasses. "How would you feel about being a parent?"

James raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"James," She said gently. "How would you feel about that?"

"I...I would be happy about it," He said, a bit confused. "But, Glyns, why?"

Glynda was silent for a moment but then sighed. "I found out this morning that I'm pregnant."

James' blue eyes went wide and then he gently kissed her. "I thought that wasn't possible."

"I didn't think so either..." Glynda murmured. "And that is part of why I'm worried."

"Let's think about this rationally," James said, helping her sit down on the edge of their bed with him and an arm wrapped around her waist. "First off, is the baby healthy?"

"Yes," Glynda said, glancing at her wedding ring on her left hand. "Yes, the doctor said that the baby seems perfectly healthy and that the ultrasound results were normal."

"That's a good sign," James said, although he couldn't deny the concern he felt for both her and their child. "It's going to be alright."

"I didn't even think I could have children..." She said softly. "I'm a bit shocked, to be honest, and I'm concerned."

"I promise I'll do everything that I can to make sure this works out," He said, giving her a gentle squeeze. "I love you, and I know I'll love our child."

Glynda sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I don't want to lose our baby."

"Do you want to stay here in Atlas?" He asked her, brushing his knuckles gently over her cheek. "Because I'm sure that Port and Oobleck would understand if you did. I'm sure there's nothing going on at Beacon that they can't find a way to handle, even though you keep everything afloat. You have since the Fall."

Glynda bit her lip. "I'm not sure..."

"Glyns," James said, holding her close. "Please don't stress yourself."

She was silent for a long moment but then nodded. "Alright. Fine, I'll work from Atlas since we're not opening back up until next year."

"It will be alright," He promised, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "I'm sure everything is going to be alright. The restoration of Beacon has made great progress, it seems like we're moving forward in our fight against Salem, and now we're going to be having a family. I'm sure it's going to be okay."

"I love you," She said as she curled into him. "So much."

He smiled. "I love you too."

As husband and wife spent time alone together and reconciled their thoughts surrounding all of the new changes in their lives, there was a much more somber tone set miles and miles away in Mistral. While the last of their minimal things were brought onto the military transport ship that Winter was in charge of, an eerie silence passed between all of them. Raven and Tai had left shortly after the fight had concluded, presumably to head back to Patch and continue to amend their relationship, Team RWBY, Oscar, JNPR, Qrow, and Winter all kept sending each other uncomfortable sideways glances. The events that had transpired at Haven had been as Raven had suggested, but this hadn't diffused the tension.

An uncomfortable feeling arose whenever the topic of the Relic came up. Ozpin had assured them that it was all perfectly fine and that all that was needed to protect the Relic in Atlas, but he had been shy towards the topic since. Despite her own suspicions, Winter had not pressed the subject and the same could be said of Qrow. The teens, on the other hand, were not so silent or willing to let the matter slide. More than a few debates had broken out in the two days since the battle, and Winter herself was rather done with mediating such incidents. Hence her visible tension as they all stepped onto the transport which would have them in Atlas by morning.

"Win?" Qrow asked as the transport began to take off. "You alright?"

"What do you think?" She asked him, her arms crossed. "I'm exhausted and stressed. I'm pretty sure that precludes me from being alright."

Qrow laughed humorlessly. "You're always to the point, aren't you?"

"It's certainly easier than not being," She replied, then shaking her head. "Qrow, do you get the sense that we're not being told everything that we have a right to know?"

He hesitated but then sighed. "Oz is weird, Win, and he has a reason for everything he does. If he's not telling us something, then I'm sure that there's a reason."

"Are you sure that it's justified, though?" Winter asked him, and he nodded.

"Yes," He said as he took a sip from his flask. "Win, I'm sure that it's perfectly justified."

She was silent for a long moment but then shook her head. "What the hell. Fine, if you trust Ozpin then I'll let this go."

Qrow smiled. "I love you, you know that?"

Winter rolled her eyes. "Oh god, Qrow, are you trying to distract me and change the subject?"

He grinned as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Maybe?"

Winter laughed. "You know what, honestly, I'm not even going to fight it."

"Really?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure that you're the same Winter Schnee that fought me in Beacon's courtyard?"

"You got me in a lot of trouble for that!" She exclaimed, unable to bit back a few giggles as he began to kiss her neck. "Qrow!"

"Hey," He said, pausing as he kissed her lips. "I got in a lot of trouble for that too. In case you've forgotten, Glynda really wanted to kick my ass over that."

"Of course she did!" Winter rolled her eyes. "You shouldn't have provoked me, let alone showed up drunk -"

"Oh, come on..." Qrow said, kissing her cheek. "I love you. Can we move on from this and just be two people in love?"

Winter gently rested her head on his chest. "Qrow, you and I both have work and we can't neglect that just to -"

"I'm not suggesting that," He said, running his hands through her thick white locks. "But I am suggesting that we spend a little more time on us and that you and I should try and, honestly, I can't imagine us having to fight another crazy battle soon."

Winter sighed. "One would hope."

"I know," He said, squeezing her gently. "But I think things might get better."

"You're not worried about anything?" She asked him, and he hesitated but then sighed.

"I'm a bit worried about my semblance," He admitted. "But I know better than to get you started on that."

Winter sighed. "Alright."

"Win," Qrow said, kissing her cheek. "I promise I'll try to be better about this."

She smiled. "Good. I want things to go forward."

He nodded and drew her closer still. "Me too..."


	20. Chapter 20

_**March 29th  
Atlas Academy  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
11:31 PM**_

"James," Qrow said as he pushed open the door to the headmaster's office. "We -"

"Do you even know how to knock?" Glynda asked him, crossing her arms with her crop in hand. "Or do you just not give -"

"I thought you'd be happy I'm alive," Qrow said, and she scowled. "You seem crabbier than usual."

"Qrow -" James started, his voice almost tired.

"We knew you were alive," Glynda reminded him. "If I recall, you did send us a -"

"Who's to say we couldn't have died on the way to Atlas?" Qrow argued. "Or that -"

"Qrow, quit being stubborn for the sake of being stubborn," She snapped. "You're not helping anything, and where's the Relic?"

"The teens are coming up with it," Qrow informed her, pulling out his flask and taking a long swig. "And, speaking of stubborness, why don't you tell the same thing to your husband? I'd ask Oz to have him make that point again, but he's -"

"Qrow," Glynda said, her voice becoming increasingly dangerous. "Maybe if you'd -"

"Give me a second," He said, checking his scroll as it began to buzz. "They're heading up. Winter's going to be here soon too."

Glynda raised an eyebrow. "I thought she -"

"No, it's alright," James said, sighing. "I already planned on that, especially since she was going to file an official report on the events that transpired at Haven."

"Ha," Qrow said, and both of them glared. "What? I was just -"

"Can you try -" Glynda began irritably.

"Glynda, please," Ozpin said through Oscar as he walked into the room. "This is not an easy situation for any of us."

She was silent for a moment and then glanced at the lamp in his hand. "So that," She started slowly. "Is the Relic Of Knowledge?"

"Yes," He said, closing the door behind him. "I told the teens to wander instead of explaining things here. I assumed it would be best for us to discuss these events first before their accounts were added in. And, of course, because there are some things that I'm not quite ready for them to hear about our work yet."

Glynda nodded. "Fine."

Ozpin stepped forward and set the Relic down on James' desk. "First off, the Relic is unusable. All three of the questions for this century have been asked."

Qrow sighed. "Damn, that sucks. We could have figured out how to end this quickly."

"We'll find another way," Ozpin said shortly, then looking to Glynda. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," She said, a bit too quickly and her thoughts racing.

Ozpin took note of the way she was observing the Relic and the faint glow it was emitting. "You wanted to ask it a question, didn't you?"

"Just one," She replied tersely. "Not that it matters."

James gently wrapped an arm around her waist. "Glyns, it's all going to be alright."

"How can you be sure?" She asked him quietly. "And if -"

"I'm not trying to be strong just to make you feel better," He said, his words sharp but voice gentle. "I know that -"

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Qrow asked them, an eyebrow raised. "Something happen?"

Ozpin looked between all of them. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure we should tell them," Glynda said softly, and James gently rubbed her back. "It's..."

"We don't have to," He said, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. "Really. But they may very well -"

"I'm pregnant," She said quickly, then biting her lip as they all stared at her in shock. "I didn't even know that I -"

"Oh my god," Qrow said, staring at her in surprise but then turning to James. "That's a major change in your life."

"I'm happy about it," He informed him, his voice sounding increasingly testy. "If you want to make any –"

"Geez, I'm not trying to attack you two," Qrow said, putting his hands up. "I was just surprised, okay? I'm not trying to –"

"General Ironwood, sir, I'm so sorry I'm late –" Winter started as she stepped into the room.

"Schnee," James said, turning to look to her. "It's alright, we're just glad you're here."

"Of course," She said quickly, recomposing herself as she glanced to Qrow. "I'll have my report filed within a few days."

"I don't expect any less of you," James replied, looking at the Relic again as it continued to emit an eerie blue glow. "I presume you know what this is?"

Winter nodded. "Qrow and Ozpin explained as much. It's the Relic Of Knowledge."

"The Relic Of Creation is here, in Atlas Academy," Ozpin informed her. "We'll be working on protecting both Relics here in Atlas, since the Spring Maiden –"

"If Raven had told us who the Spring Maiden was, we could have…" Qrow started, his voice slowly becoming angry. "And maybe she told Tai! Maybe –"

"We couldn't have forced her to have the maiden seal the Relic," Ozpin said, glancing towards it. "And we don't know for certain if she and Tai are still together."

Glynda raised an eyebrow. "Raven and Tai are involved again?"

"Looks like it," Qrow said, shrugging. "He loves her, in spite of everything."

"I'm not sure about her loyalties, if she has any," James sighed as he began to pace. "And that's concerning, to say the very least."

"I know," Qrow said, shaking his head. "But she was invaluable in this. She saved all of our asses, even if for her sake, from Cinder and their group. Salem may be after all of us, but –"

"I know, it would be a great help to us if we had the Spring Maiden," Ozpin shook his head. "But that is not the situation we're in, and we have to do the very best we can."

"So what are we going to do with the Relic now that it's here in Atlas?" Glynda asked him, setting her crop down on James' desk. "For example, is it safe to lock it in the Relic chamber with Choice?"

"As long as the other two Relics aren't with it, then it's safe," Ozpin said, then hesitating as he went on. "I'm not sure that we should tell the teens about the truth of what will happen if the Relics are unified."

"We shouldn't," James said, his pacing ceasing as he glanced towards the Relic Of Knowledge. "They don't, and shouldn't have to, need to know that to unify the Relics would damn the world."

"You just don't trust anyone," Qrow snapped. "That's the real reason behind this, not because –"

"Qrow –" James snapped, matching the man's tone perfectly.

"They have a right to know," He argued. "They're just as much a part of this as we are –"

"They're still only teenagers –" James countered.

"They've been through more than –" Qrow growled.

"Qrow," Winter said, placing a hand on his shoulder but then quickly dropping it for the sake of professionalism. "As much as I agree that they've been through horrible ordeals that no one their age should, General Ironwood is right –"

"Of course you'll take his side," Qrow said irritably. "Since he's your boss."

"That is not why –" Winter started.

"Win, they –" Qrow said, cutting across her.

"We're not telling them what will happen by unifying the Relics," Glynda said with finality. "If only because this isn't the right time. Maybe when it makes more sense, but right now we're trying to keep things stable and doing that will only serve to make things worse."

"And they're still only children," Ozpin added. "Why don't we let them play the part?"


	21. Chapter 21

_**April 3rd  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
11:34 AM**_

Winter sighed as she slowly sipped her tea. "I still don't know how I feel about not telling my sister what could happen if we unify the Relics."

"To be fair," Glynda said, as she paced. "It's probably not the best time to scare them. They should know eventually, but now is not the best time. They've already dealt with the Fall, they've just -"

"I know," Winter snapped, then sighing again. "I just…"

"I get that she's your sister and that you care about her," Glynda said gently. "But you don't need to put her through more pain."

Winter nodded. "She's worried enough that father is going to demand she come home."

"I've never liked Jacques," Glynda said, pausing as she looked to the younger woman. "He's always rubbed me the wrong way."

"You and the majority of the population," Winter muttered. "But several key partners in the business world? As if. To be honest, most of them are just as corrupt as he is. Hasn't the Council had issues with dealing with this type of corruption for years?"

"Even under your grandfather that was true," Glynda said, and Winter raised an eyebrow. "Nicholas was a good person, but even he had his faults. He himself wasn't corrupt, but many of the people he chose to work with were."

"You sound vaguely like Qrow," Winter noted with slight amusement. "He's always saying how I'm lucky I got out of my family's drama and corruption."

"And you are," Glynda said, pausing for a moment and then shaking her head. "I suppose Qrow and I do agree on a few things."

Winter rolled her eyes. "The two of you do not get along very well, do you?"

"He's always drinking, which is the first issue," Glynda said, shaking her head. "The second issue is that he can't ever seem to keep his mouth shut even when he should."

Winter sighed. "I know, but I still care – love – him."

Glynda smiled. "At least you two care for each other."

"Are you alright?" Winter asked her, taking note of how tired the older woman looked.

"I'm fine," Glynda told her, turning as Qrow scoffed upon walking into the room. "What?"

"Oh, come on," He said, looking at her in complete seriousness. "We all know you're worried because you're pregnant and are due in mid December."

Winter was silent for a moment but then smiled. "Glynda, that's wonderful. I'm sure you and General Ironwood will be great parents."

"I'm struggling to see Jimmy as a father," Qrow said, and Glynda scowled. "Oh, please, you know that he spends most of his time working –"

"In case you've forgotten, until the Fall, I had too," She snapped. "Why can't you just be –"

"Glynda," Qrow said, putting his hands up and giving her a serious look. "I am happy for the two of you. I'm still just a bit surprised that the two of you –"

"I am too," She admitted softly, then sighing. "Look, I –"

"It's normal to be worried," He told her, awkwardly embracing her. "Okay, believe me, no one's perfectly calm about this kind of thing. It's new, and it can be scary but it's going to be alright."

"Don't ever embrace me like that again," She told him as they awkwardly separated, and he sat down next to Winter and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Really, that was more awkward than –"

"Believe me, I know," Qrow said, laughing a bit. "Sorry."

Winter rolled her eyes as she rested her head on Qrow's shoulder. "You're something else, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am," He said, kissing her forehead. "But I love you nonetheless."

"You two have been together for four months and you're already –" Glynda cut herself off before she finished her thought. "I'm going to leave before I say something that's going to piss off both of you."

"We appreciate it!" Qrow called after her and she paused in the doorway, adjusted her bag on her shoulder, glared at him, and then slammed the door behind herself. "Well…" Qrow said, his fingers trailing through Winter's hair. "I think we hit a nerve."

"You mean that _you_ hit a nerve," Winter hesitated for a moment but then curled tighter into him. "You know, maybe she's right that you don't know how to keep your mouth shut."

"I don't," He agreed with a smirk. "But it's hot, isn't it?"

Winter blushed. "Qrow!"

"Oh, so you agree?" He said, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. "I knew it."

"Stop it, you're embarrassing me!" She exclaimed, and he laughed.

"Win," He said slowly. "You alright? No one's here but us. Am I embarrassing you in front of people who don't exist?"

Winter went silent but then narrowed her eyes for a short moment. "Who's to say I'm not?"

"So you're crazy," Qrow said with a faint smirk. "Huh. Didn't realise that would make you all the more attractive to me."

Winter turned an even brighter pink. "Qrow, please don't flatter me."

"I ain't flattering you," He said as he gave her a gentle squeeze. "There's a difference between flattering you and stating what I genuinely think. Flattering is what you do with Jimmy because…well I don't even know why."

Winter pulled away from him and looked at him in outrage. "I do not flirt with General Ironwood!"

"That's not what I meant –" Qrow started.

"That's what it sounded like –" She snapped.

"What I meant –" He protested.

"What you said –" She countered.

"Win, I meant that you –" He said as gently as possible.

"That I what?" She challenged.

"That you defend him even when he screws up because you trust his judgement more than anyone else's," Qrow said, sighing heavily. "Even when what he's saying is going against what Oz –"

"Ozpin's not perfect," Winter reminded him, crossing her arms. "And you do the exact same thing."

Qrow was silent but then nodded. "Sorry. That was too far."

"Yes, it was," Winter said, then biting her lip. "Qrow, I –"

"I just wish you and I focused more on each other," He said, looking at his hands for a moment and then looking at her. "I know we said we were going to, but we haven't –"

"Because it's just not practical," She said sadly. "I want that too, but –"

"Maybe we should try a little harder?" He suggested, hesitantly moving closer to her once more and cupping her cheek. "If we do that, maybe we'll be able to –"

Winter suddenly pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. "I love you."

Qrow smiled. "I love you too, Ice Queen."

"Not that again," She said, rolling her eyes. "You've called me that one too many times."

"Sorry," He said, holding her close once more. "Win, you know I love you."

"Yes, I do," She said as she let herself curl into his embrace. "I wish we had more times like this."

"So do I," He said softly. "Can you at least promise me we'll try to have more moments where it's just the two of us?"

Winter hesitated but then nodded. "Alright. Maybe it's time for me to take a little more time for myself."

"Shocked it took so long to get to that realisation," He commented with a smile as he kissed her forehead. "What brought it on?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She asked him with a smile, then pressing another kiss to his lips. "You and all of your crazy."

"I wouldn't call it crazy," He said, shaking his head. "But for you? I'll take it."


	22. Chapter 22

_**April 17th  
Atlas Academy  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
7:32 PM**_

Ruby all but collapsed into a bed in her team's dorm in Atlas Academy. "Ugh...guys...I'm so tired…"

"We haven't fought anything or anyone since Haven," Weiss reminded her, rolling her eyes. "Come on, Ruby, how are you so tired?"

Ruby scowled. "Hey, let me complain."

"Nah," Yang said, laughing. "If we're not, then you can't."

"Look, I'm tired because there's nothing to do…" Ruby lamented. "I mean, Weiss won't let us go out into the city all together because –"

"The second my father finds out that I'm back in the kingdom is the same second that I'm a prisoner again," Weiss shook her head as she glanced out the window. "I feel much better being at Atlas Academy."

"We'll bring you something later," Blake promised her as she reached for her coat. "Ruby, get off the bed and come with me and Yang. Maybe we'll get lucky and we'll get to fight someone in the streets for –"

"Ugh, I guess…" She mumbled, forcing herself up and picking up Crescent Rose. "Maybe a fight will alleviate my boredom and my exhaustion…"

"Unusual logic…" Weiss muttered.

"See ya!" Yang waved as she shut the door behind herself, Blake, and Ruby.

"See you too," Weiss said, shaking her head as she walked over to the window and stared out at the teams as they ran through the courtyard below. "In some ways, this is being a prisoner again."

"Not quite," A slightly amused voice said from the doorway, causing Weiss to turn around in surprise. "That would suggest that you're not allowed to leave, which you are."

Weiss stared at her sister for a long moment. "That's not funny, Winter."

"I wasn't trying to be," She replied, stepping into the room. "I simply wanted to see my sister."

Weiss gave her a half smile. "Well, I'd like that much more than sulking."

"I imagined you would," Winter smirked a little as she sat down in the window seat across from her sister. "How have you been? Other than lonely and avoiding father, I mean."

"Alright," Weiss said, biting her lip. "A bit nervous, but alright."

"Because of what happened at Haven?" Winter asked her, and she nodded. "That's not going to happen here."

"Also the Relic," Weiss admitted. "I mean, what does it do? More to the point, how do we make it work?"

"That," Winter said slowly. "Is not something I know. Ozpin has told us as much as he's told the rest of you. If he's keeping something, then that's on him and we can't –"

"You know more than you're letting on, don't you?" Weiss stared at her sister for a long moment. "Come on, Winter, what is it?"

"Weiss," Winter said sharply. "You don't need to know."

"Why does everyone say that?" She exclaimed, standing up quickly and turning away from her as she crossed her arms. "Why does everyone except for ourselves always get to decide how much we know or don't know?"

"Because there are some things that you're not ready to hear," Winter sighed heavily as she looked at her sister. "Weiss, it's not in my place –"

"Then tell me something else that I wasn't supposed to know!" Weiss snapped, turning to face her sister. "I don't care if it's only related to the SDC, or to the family –"

"Fine," Winter snapped, matching her sister's tone perfectly but then calming herself. "Did mother ever tell you what happened to her brother and her sister, Emmett and Cristal?"

Weiss blinked. "Mother has a sister?"

"Had," Winter said, glancing at her hands. "You see, when I was thirteen and you were a year, our grandfather was still alive and he was getting ready to transfer the company out of his hands because of his failing health. Mother was the eldest of the three, and Cristal was technically older than Emmett but only by a few minutes. Because mother didn't want to take over the company, our grandfather decided to make Cristal the CEO and Emmett COO – which had been her position before the promotion. Father was never supposed to have the company…but the situation was pressing."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Winter sighed. "White Fang violence towards the company, as a result of its influence not business policies because the policies that angered them further –"

"Were implemented under father," Weiss finished. "So?"

Winter narrowed her eyes for a moment but then shook her head. "In a…rather shocking act of violence, several separatist extremists of the White Fang decided to crash two transports into the buildings that were the SDC complex. It was the greatest destructive act against the kingdom of Atlas and its civilians that anyone had ever seen…and while a handful of people survived quite a few didn't…and Cristal, Emmett, and the majority of the board of directors were killed instantly because one of the –"

"Oh my god…" Weiss said, staring at her sister in horror. "Why didn't –"

"Father received the company because of the loss of Cristal and Emmett," Winter said, brushing aside tears. "And because he had to rebuild it, he rebuilt it in the image he wanted which was for immense profitability. I've always hated that, not only because it's wrong but because it's an insult to the memory of both Cristal and Emmett. All father has done over the years is –"

"I don't need to hear anymore," Weiss said, sitting down shakily. "It's all too horrible."

"That's the real world," Winter said quietly. "Things like that happen every day, even if not on that massive a scale. What I do – what _we_ do – is dangerous but it's to protect people who will lose their lives defenselessly if we don't. Nothing in this world is perfect, we're never going to achieve complete peace, but –"

"If we defeat Salem –" Weiss countered.

"If that's even possible," Winter said, sighing heavily. "I'm not sure it is."

"Winter," Weiss said slowly, knowing better than to test her sister's patience. "Why doesn't Ozpin want us to unify all of the Relics? Wouldn't unifying them help us defeat her?"

Winter was silent, but then shook her head. "You know what? I've told you something I never thought I'd tell you, something you wouldn't have found on your own even though it was widely reported, so what have I to lose?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "So then –"

"The reason Ozpin doesn't want the Relics unified is because unifying them will bring back the gods," Winter glanced out the window for a brief moment. "And because the gods will come back to find humanity still at war with itself – even if it's not formally war – then the world will die. They will destroy it because of the way we are. Unifying the Relics is Salem's goal exactly for that purpose."

"She wants to bring about the end of the world?" Weiss stared at her sister in horror. "No."

"Weiss, I –" Winter paused as Ruby, Yang, and Blake stepped back into the room. "Damn," She muttered. "Lost track of time."

"We're back!" Ruby exclaimed, sounding far more cheerful than she had when she had left. "So…what are you two talking about?"

"Nothing," Winter said a bit too quickly.

"Oh…" Yang said, elbowing Ruby in the chest. "I think she's going to marry your dad."

"Yang!" Ruby shrieked. "No –"

"That's definitely not what we're talking about," Weiss told them, and Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Then what are you?" She asked her.

Weiss sighed. "Oh, just depressing family history and the end of the world."

Ruby laughed. "Weiss, stop –"

"I'm not joking," Weiss said, and they all stared at her. "I think Ozpin has more than a few questions to answer."

 **A/N: Yes, this is a more tragic AU of both Veni Vidi Vici and The Dark Side Of The Moon.**


	23. Chapter 23

_**April 23rd  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
11:23 PM**_

 _Where are we going?_ Oscar asked Ozpin, who had taken control once more.

"I can't ignore this forever," Ozpin replied shortly. "I've tried to avoid it because of how painful losing her was, but it's not worth it anymore."

 _Who is 'her'?_ Oscar would have raised an eyebrow in confusion if he could have.

Ozpin sighed as he paused in front of the cemetery gate. "Chrissy. Or, as you may know her, Cristal Schnee."

 _Didn't she die in a White Fang attack against the Schnee family and the kingdom of Atlas?_ Even without control that he knew he would one day lose entirely, Oscar could almost feel the emotional pain and anguish.

"Yes," Ozpin replied, sighing and pushing open the gate. "Yes, she did."

 _How close were you with her?_ Oscar asked. _You called her 'Chrissy' first._

"That's because she was my fiance," Ozpin shook his head sadly as he slowly made his way over towards her grave. There was only one other person there at the late hour, although he could not make out their features to tell even if they were male or female. "Chrissy meant so much to me, and she died at only twenty four. Her twin brother, Emmett, was obviously the same age. But...Chrissy was the first woman I'd fallen in love with since…"

 _Since Salem._ Oscar finished, having forced that bit of knowledge out of him a few weeks prior.

"Yes," Ozpin replied, pausing in front of her grave and hanging his head sadly. "I'm so sorry, Chrissy, this never should have happened to you. And I, irrational as it may be, still love you."

"That," A female voice said from nearby, turning to look at him. "Is not something I've heard in a long time, especially referring to a 'Chrissy'."

Ozpin turned to meet the woman's gaze. She was small - no taller than 5'2'' - and she had long black hair and warm brown eyes. "General Ciel." He said simply.

She took a small step back before shaking her head. "I forgot you reincarnate."

"Your father told you about the group and what we do?" Ozpin inquired with a half smile.

"Yes, he did," She said, sighing heavily and glancing towards a nearby grave. "You and I were still not the only people to lose someone we loved that day."

"Emmett adored you," Ozpin said, looking at her sympathetically. "And he loved Casey too."

"Casseia," An annoyed female voice said, hopping down from up in one of the trees. "But most people just call me Cas."

Emmeline stared at her daughter for a moment but then shook her head. "I should have known. In all seventeen years of your life, you've never liked to do what you're told. So much like your father, actually."

Cas bit her lip - tears forming in her pale blue eyes and her glasses fogging slightly. "I...I turn eighteen in September."

"Cas," Emmeline said, embracing her daughter. "If you want to cry, you can. Everyone has a right to cry, you know."

She considered that for a moment before clutching onto her mother as if she were a child. "I hate everything! It's not fair that you lost daddy, and it's not fair that I never knew him!"

"I know," Emmeline said, gently running her fingers through her daughter's hair and looking to Ozpin. "Elizabeth Morell and her husband took it pretty hard as well. It goes without saying that Glynda, James, and Blake and Allison Adel had a hard time dealing with it as well."

"Glynda, James, and Blake were their teammates, and Chrissy and Allison had been friends since childhood. As for you and Elizabeth...the two of you have always been close," Ozpin noted. "And she too was good friends with Emmett and Chrissy at the time of their...of their deaths."

Emmeline sighed. "It's awful, it's just awful and on top of that it's terribly unfair."

"That's what Caity said…" Cas whimpered. "She's my best friend, and she said that too."

Ozpin stared at Emmeline for a moment.

"Caitlin Morell," She said. "Elizabeth and Michael's daughter. Brilliant girl, actually. She's excelling in the toughest classes, is towards the top of her year, and is actually -"

"She's really pretty," Cas said softly. "She's got curly dark hair and blunt bangs, green eyes, cute glasses, and she's just great."

Ozpin was silent for a moment before addressing Emmeline. "If I could bring back Emmett and Chrissy, I would do so in a heartbeat. Always would have."

Emmeline bit her lip but then sighed. "I know."

* * *

Winter smiled as she stepped into her and Qrow's apartment around midnight. "You'll never guess who gets work off tomorrow."

Qrow smirked. "You."

"General Ironwood said he thought it was only fair," Winter said as she set down her bags and her sword. "And it means I get more time with you."

"Not gonna say no to that," He replied, coming over to her and embracing her tightly. "How have things been?"

"At work?" Winter asked him, almost amused. "The same as always, why?"

"Ah, I wasn't asking about work," He said, booping her nose. "I was asking about with you, and your family, and of course with the teens."

Winter laughed as he pressed a swift kiss to her cheek. "The teens are alright in general, although Weiss is still worried our father is going to find out she's in Atlas and try to force her to come home."

Qrow sighed. "Jacques needs to pull the stick out of his ass and realise he can't control everything."

"I wish he would," Winter admitted, shaking her head as she let him hold her close. "Especially for what it has done to mother."

"He's a despicable person," Qrow said resolutely. "But he's not going to win forever. Someday, someone's going to grow a spine strong enough to not bend under him. I'm hoping it will be someone on the Council. Other than Jimmy. James might be influential, but he's not influential enough to take down Jacques on his own. As far as I'm aware, it's only Jimmy and Ciel that openly try to take him down. Maybe Elizabeth Morell could help then?"

"Qrow, there are more people on the Council that dislike my father than you think," Winter said almost sharply. "There are just bigger concerns to the Council right now - like the constant threat of war - than one corrupt businessman."

Qrow considered that for a long moment but then shook his head. "He's more than just that. He's hurt you, Weiss, and your mother in ways that can't be fixed. I'd assume your brother too."

Winter sighed heavily. "Qrow, I'd rather not talk about this right now."

He was silent but then nodded. "Sorry."

Winter bit her lip, then forcing herself to speak. "Qrow, I am curious about one of your...tics."

He raised an eyebrow. "And what might that be, sweetheart?"

"What the hell do you keep in your flask?" She asked him, smirking.

He matched her smirk perfectly. "You wanna find out?"

"Are you asking me to drink whatever is in it?" She asked.

"You scared?" He teased.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," She scoffed. "The last thing I am is scared."

"Then try it," He replied. "I _dare_ you."

Winter narrowed her eyes for a moment but then nodded. "Fine."

Qrow gently released his arms from around her and grabbed his flask off the counter. "You sure?"

"Get a fucking shot glass," She said, gesturing towards one of the upper cabinets.

Qrow laughed as he grabbed two. "If you spit this up, you have to call Glynda at...what is it now...one in the morning and let her snap at you over it."

Winter stared at him. "I'm not going to spit it up, and I'm not going to piss of Glynda."

Qrow poured a bit of the liquid in his flask into each shot glass. "You will if you spit it up."

Winter scowled and picked up a shot glass. "You're on."

"Always am," He replied, picking up his own. "Now, on three, we'll drink. Got it?"

She steadied the glass in her hand. "You act as if that's even a question."

"Oh, I love you sweetheart," Qrow smirked as he began. "One, two -"

Winter gagged as soon as she took the shot, unable to force herself from, rather indignantly, spitting it up in the sink. "What the hell is that?"

"Rum and a bit of black coffee," Qrow said, shrugging. "And you lost."

"I'm not going to piss of Glynda!" Winter snapped, embarrassed by how she imagined she must look.

Qrow pushed her scroll towards her. "It's already started."

The line clicked.

"Winter, what the hell do you need and why does it warrant -" Glynda started.

"Qrow -" Winter started.

"Qrow did something stupid?" Glynda paused for a moment. "Is he with you?"

Winter sighed. "Yes."

Qrow froze but then picked up Winter's scroll. "She lost a bet, she -"

"How drunk are you?" Glynda asked him. "As annoyed as I am, I'm still amused by how ridiculous -"

"...Glyns?" James asked, sounding tired. "...You okay?"

"Qrow's being a dick, as always," She said, sighing. "Qrow, listen to me."

"Kinda don't have a choice," He muttered.

"Qrow," Glynda said, her voice completely serious. "I know you love Winter, so don't test her. Okay? You need her, and, to be honest, I imagine she needs you."

Qrow sighed and then looked to his partner while she slipped into the bathroom to shower. "I know."


	24. Chapter 24

_**April 24th  
City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **1:23 PM**_

Winter curled tightly into Qrow's embrace even as the soft afternoon light. "I never realised how nice this could be…"

"Well, sweetheart, you're with me now aren't you?" Qrow smirked as he kissed her forehead. "I'm just glad that we've gotten any time alone."

"With everything going on, it is a relief," Winter laughed as he began to kiss her neck. "Qrow!"

"Just trying to show you some of my affection," He said with a grin. "Kind of like I did last night."

Winter blushed. "I'm starting to think that letting you touch me might have been counterintuitive."

"I disagree," Qrow said, fluffing her soft white hair. "Considering that you were the one that talked me into it."

Winter groaned. "Damn logic."

"I thought logic was your best friend," Qrow said teasingly. "Other than, of course, work."

Winter glared. "Shut up."

"You really that mad at me?" He asked her, cupping her cheek.

"I was really that mad at you last night after you made me piss off Glynda," Winter replied. "But right now? Not really."

"Good," He said, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "Because I love you."

Winter rolled her eyes. "I love you too."

"Oh, someone's feeling testy…" Qrow said, laughing as she slapped his arm. "Sorry, that was too far."

"Damn right it was too far," She said as she pulled herself up. "You know, maybe we should finally get out of bed and actually do something."

"Sure you don't want to do something here?" He teased, and Winter glared at him once more. "Alright, I'll let it go. I'll let it go."

"You know," Winter said, brushing her fingers through her long and somewhat tangled white hair. "I was thinking that maybe we should talk about what we both want out of our relationship."

Qrow stared at her, but then nodded. "Alright. You first."

Winter sighed, staring at her reflection in the mirror and then turning to face him. "Well, as with any relationship I want this to mean something. I'm not saying right now - that would be ridiculous and way too much for me to take in and I imagine the same is true for you as well - but I do want us to be committed to each other for a long while. I don't want this to turn into some sort of...fling, I believe is the term."

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "When you say committed for a long while…"

"Marriage," She said, and he was silent for a long moment unsure of how to respond. "For god's sake, I already said I'm not asking for that to be any time soon."

"I, I know," He said, still trying to process. "I'm just a bit surprised, that's all."

"Why?" She asked him, her arms crossed.

"Mainly because I'd be worried about hurting you," He said, rubbing his neck. "Which is an omnipresent fear for me to begin with."

"Qrow, we've been together for four months and nothing bad has happened," She reminded him. "And I think I might have been more surprised than I have ever been in that time. Finding out that Ruby is your daughter, seeing -"

"I know," He said, sighing. "It's just that...I'm not sure I'm ever going to get past my fear of hurting anyone with my luck, let alone someone I love like you."

"You still blame yourself for what happened to Summer Rose, don't you?" Winter sighed. "You told me -"

"I don't want you to be worried about me -" He started.

"Qrow, we both care about each other and it's not just you who's going to be worried," She said, her words perfectly pointed but her voice gentle. "I worry about you too, and you need to accept that."

He nodded. "I'm sorry, Win, I just…"

"We know what we're doing," She said, embracing him tightly. "You and I are both adults, we're both...well, you're a huntsman and I'm in the military -"

Qrow softly kissed her lips. "I know."

Silence passed for a long moment with the two of them tightly in each other's arms before they broke apart upon hearing a knock at the door.

"If that's James…" Qrow started, his hand tightly in hers.

"Don't be an ass," She said as he opened the door. "I -"

"Oz?" Qrow stared at the man who had taken control over Oscar once more. "Something happen?"

"Yes," He said as he stepped into the apartment. "But, thankfully, this time it's good."

"What is it?" Winter asked him skeptically while Qrow wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I think it's possible we have more allies than we previously thought," He said simply. "At least, based on what General Ciel said last night."

"Ciel's alright," Qrow said, almost grudgingly. "Although she's never gotten over the loss of her husband."

Winter gave him a sharp look. "She's my aunt -"

"Sorry -" Qrow started.

"Her father told her a good bit about the group, enough to realise who I was last night," Ozpin said as he paced. "And she mentioned the Adels, the Morells...she's close with all of them and I can imagine that she explained this to them. Maybe a few others. It is a lot to process, after all, and I -"

"If Ciel knows -" Qrow started, sounding a bit more hopeful than he had in the last few months.

"I believe that we have a much better chance against Salem," Ozpin said, hoping that one of them would be able to seal her so that he would not have to be the one. "And, maybe, things can get better for all of us."

Winter raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe," He said slowly. "Maybe I can have Chrissy back...and maybe Ciel herself can have Emmett back as well. After all, I'm rather close to taking possession of myself back. A few more months, and I'll be myself again."

 _Oh..._ Oscar said from the back of his mind. _So you'll be...wait...you're going to manipulate your magic to be the exact man you -_

"Alright," Qrow said, with a faint smile as he kissed Winter's cheek. "I think we're finally getting somewhere."

Winter bit her lip, still unsure of what Ozpin was thinking.

"My hope," Oz said. "Is that maybe now all can be well."

But that hope was not to be realised that day - the happening just a few blocks away from where they were was a testament to that.

* * *

"Ozpin is even worse than I am," Emmeline said irritably as she sipped her tea. "He clearly thinks that if Salem is defeated that he'll get Chrissy back, and I've stupidly hoped for years that one of these days I'll wake the fuck up and Emmett will be right there with me -"

"I really don't want to think about what happened to her, or to your husband," Elizabeth Morell said, sighing heavily. "And I'm still not sure I like the fact that you clued me, Michael, Karissa, and Kiara in on all of this. You know that -"

"Or us," Blake Adel added, an arm tightly around his wife. "Although it has always eluded me why your father told you."

"That's a fair point," Allison Adel added. "Although he might have thought that Emmett, who had been in the group, might have told you."

"Al, you're right. Blake, listen to your wife because she knows best. And, Liz, you had a right to know," Emmeline said, and Elizabeth bit her lip. "Especially after what Cinder -"

"And I imagine she really doesn't want to think about what your husband's _other_ sister did to her," Michael Morell gently wrapped an arm around his wife as he sat down next to her. "Lizzie, I know you've got a lot on your mind, but it's alright."

"I suppose," Elizabeth said, sending Emmeline a cursory glance. "Out of curiosity, does Ozpin even know we're aware of all this?"

Emmeline hesitated. "I'm not sure."

"Knowing Ozpin," Blake said, his wife curling tighter into him and her head resting on his good shoulder. "The answer is that he probably he does."

"Look," Emmeline said, pausing for a moment and then pulling open the door to the third floor and causing her daughter to let out a shriek of surprise. "Cas, what -"

"Oh, she's so much like Coco and Heather," Allison shook her head and forced herself not to laugh. "Or how I imagine Lily and Emmett will be when they turn nine in a few months."

"I was curious!" Cas protested, staring at her mother with wide eyes. "All of you are together, talking -"

"For god's sake, Cas," Emmeline gave her daughter a pointed look. "Last night aside -"

"What happened last night?" Glynda asked her as she stepped into the room and set down her bag.

Emmeline was silent and then turned back to her daughter. "We'll discuss this later."

Cas scowled as she stormed back up to her room. "Damn it…"

Glynda raised an eyebrow. "Sounds pleasant."

"Where were you last night, anyways?" Blake asked her. "I thought we'd all agreed we were going to -"

"Something came up," Emmeline snapped. "At work."

"Actually, if that were true I would know," Elizabeth twisted her dark hair in her hands as she went on. "Considering that I'm on the DFAMA's security council. In all fairness, Blake, being the chair of the investigative committee, would have known too."

Emmeline scowled, looking very much like her daughter had. "Fine. I ran into Ozpin, and he pissed me off."

"Informative," Glynda commented, and Allison laughed.

"Emmeline," Allison said gently, calming herself. "What happened?"

"I don't particularly want to talk about it," She said shortly.

Elizabeth snorted. "Says the woman who was complaining about him being worse than her."

"She's got you there," Blake said, pressing a gentle kiss to Allison's cheek but flinching when he shifted his left shoulder. "I mean -"

"Fine!" Emmeline snapped. "As you all well know, yesterday would have marked eighteen years of Emmett and I being married had -"

"And let me guess," Glynda said, her arms crossed. "Ozpin was missing Chrissy at the same time you were missing Emmett."

Emmeline was silent once more but then nodded shortly. "Yes."

"What did he say to you?" Elizabeth asked her, sounding both concerned and a bit tired. "Other than that he implied that he thinks he can get...that…"

Michael looked at Emmeline in shock. "Ozpin thinks that by defeating Salem that he can get his fiance back?"

"My husband too," Emmeline said, looking away. "The problem is, I know that he doesn't think he himself can defeat her."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Glynda said, shaking her head. "Ozpin -"

"He and Salem were once involved, married, actually," Emmeline said, and they all stared at her. "The two of them had four kids, and were perfectly happy until she found out about the true reason the gods had brought him back. She murdered him and their kids when he tried to escape, realising what she had become. He hasn't been in love with her for millennia, but he still feels sympathy for her and could never bring himself to strike the final blow."

A long silence passed before Blake stood up angrily.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," He said, running a hand through his shaggy dark hair. "He's been misleading...wait...Emmeline...how the -"

"How the hell do you know about that?" Elizabeth asked her, an eyebrow raised.

"Ozpin wasn't…" Glynda stared at her. "Emmeline, please tell me your joking."

"Of all the people in this room, you're the only one who's actually in the group," Emmeline reminded her. "You cannot tell me that it doesn't make sense and, if you all have to know, I learned that from my father."

Blake bit his lip. "Then let's find out what else he knows."

"Blake," Allison said, taking his hand in hers and trying to not think too hard about the threat her own father posed from Salem's side - let alone the fact that he had shot her husband a few years prior. "We're not going to bother President Ciel over this."

"You two might not," Elizabeth said darkly. "But I sure as hell will. I'm curious to know just how much he's gotten out of Oz over the years."


	25. Chapter 25

_**May 7th  
Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council  
Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action  
City Of Atlas  
United Kingdom Of Atlas  
Security Level: Maximum  
Necessary Security Clearance: Maximum  
6:34 PM**_

"President Ciel," Elizabeth said, motioning for him to sit down. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us on such short notice."

"Madame Morell," He said, sounding almost amused. "When yourself, Mar, Davis, Adel, and my own daughter all file an official request to discuss classified information, I'm not going to take that lightly."

"Just to be clear," Karissa Mar said. "This has nothing to do with the Mistral situation. Rather, it has to do with Ozpin."

Edward Ciel raised an eyebrow. "Ozpin?"

Emmeline sighed. "They know."

He stared at her. "Emmeline Cecilia Ciel, I -"

"They had a right to know," She said shortly. "Elizabeth most of all because of what Cinder did to her. It does relate, and -"

"I haven't been involved in Ozpin's group for the last six years," Ciel said, looking at all of them sharply. "Primarily because such, in my view, would have been a conflict of interest for the kingdom. But, yes, I do know quite a bit about him."

"Such as his history with Salem?" Kiara Davis asked him, and he nodded shortly. "Emmeline said that the two of them were involved millennia ago. Is that true?"

"Yes," He said, turning towards his daughter. "How much did you -"

"All of it," She said, her arms crossed. "And I stand my ground that it was -"

"Emmeline," He said, putting up a hand to silence her. "I was not questioning your judgement, I was merely looking for an answer. So, what is it?"

"How much do you know about Ozpin?" Morell asked, her curiosity taking over her better judgement. "I only ask because all of us -"

"Are damn confused," Blake said, shaking his head. "I mean, so damn confused."

President Ciel sighed. "I know Ozpin better than I care to admit. The short answer is that he trusted me much more than he generally trusts people and he made me aware of a few things that perhaps were not so pleasant regarding our world. That, naturally, included his history but also the powers of the Relics."

"The powers of the Relics?" Karissa Mar raised an eyebrow. "Creation, destruction, choice, and knowledge?"

"Yes, although they are more dangerous than what their simple, individual powers suggest," Ciel hesitated for a moment before going on. "I am going to ask each and every single one of you to keep this knowledge quiet in the same way you keep security council meetings quiet."

"Of course," Kiara Davis said, motioning him to go on. "In what way are they so dangerous?"

Ciel stood up and began to pace. "For starters, unifying the Relics would essentially declaring damnation for the world."

"What?" Emmeline said, staring at her father. "Why?"

"Because," Ciel said, sending a cursory glance out the window and to the city below. "Unifying the Relics would bring back the brother gods for the judgement day. All of Remnant's religions have a final judgement as a crucial part - mono or polytheistic alike - and such is rooted in the truth of the brother gods. When they come back, should they deem humanity worthy -"

"Meaning not at each other's throats…" Blake said softly.

Ciel sent him a sharp look before going on. "Then they would restore humanity to its former glory. But if not, they would...snuff it out."

"So to unify the Relics, especially within the foreseeable future…" Elizabeth felt her hands shaking as she went on. "That would cause the world to die?"

The president was silent for a moment but then nodded. "I'm afraid so."

As the politicians and the General continued their behind closed doors discussion that was never to see the light of day in the media, the subject of their talk was slowly walking down to the vault of Atlas Academy. By the time he made his way through the many doors, security systems, and lifts, he was in a long hall at the end of which a scepter which was emitting a pale blue glow could be seen. Taking control of his body from the young man whose soul had been merged with his, he slowly stepped forward with his hands wrapped tightly around his cane. A feeling almost akin to sinking filled him. Though he knew that he was capable of doing what he was about to do, it felt a bit strange and almost wrong to be doing such. By using the Relic Of Creation alongside his own magic to restore himself, he was perhaps abusing the power the gods had left humanity with.

Nevertheless, he needed to do this in order to even attempt what he had planned secondarily. Although he had suggested to Ciel that defeating Salem herself was what was necessary to restore her husband and his fiance, it had occurred to him in that moment that he had neglected all along another option. The Relic Of Creation, in and of itself and within its power, had not only the power to create life but to restore it. Doing what he planned would disrupt natural balance, he knew, but he was done hiding from his own humanity. He had this power, he had decided, and he was not using it for evil. Two innocent lives that should never have been lost would be restored. Sighing heavily as he reached the Relic, he channeled his magic into his hands and grasped the scepter.

"Servatis a periculum," He whispered, activating the Relic's innate power. "Servatis a maleficum."

 _Save us from danger, save us from evil_ : The meaning of his words.

Focusing his intent, he closed his eyes and made one last apology to the young man known as Oscar Pine. Slowly, his own magic and that of the Relic merged together as one. The feeling of it coursed through his veins and all even to everything that lay between his skin and bones. He could feel himself changing back into the man he had been in just the previous September at the Fall of Beacon Academy; his height, his appearance, everything returned. As the feeling began to wane, he waited a long moment until the only voice in his head was his own and he carefully removed his hand from around the Relic. Glancing into the reflective surface of his cane, it took him a moment to fully acknowledge that he was Ozpin, the forty nine year old headmaster of Beacon Academy, once more.

Turning back to the Relic, he sighed heavily as he opened it fully and focused simply his intent into restoration. Several minutes passed but then there was an eerie silence just before two appeared on the floor in front of him. Although it was clear that they were a tad older than they had been when they died - an intentional usage of the Relic for the sake of what the world would hear - they were still incredibly recognisable. Setting the Relic down, he stepped over towards the small, bespectacled woman with thick white curls and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked up, her grey eyes went wide, and then she forced herself to speak - her voice a bit hoarse.

"What…" She said, glancing around. "The fuck happened?"

"Chrissy," Ozpin said gently. "It's me."

She stared at him for a moment but then wrapped her arms tightly around him. "Oz…"

"Huh?" The white haired man said, pushing up his glasses and shaking out his shoulder length waves. "The -"

"Emmett?" Cristal shifted slightly in Ozpin's arms to face her twin brother. "Do you -"

"Where's Emmy?" He asked, probing his forehead. "Is she okay?"

"Emmeline's fine," Ozpin said, helping his fiance up and then her brother. "But there are a few things we need to discuss."

"Later," He said, all but running towards the exit of the vault. "I've got to head...why the hell am I in the Atlas Academy Vault?"

Cristal looked back to Ozpin. "What -"

"Chrissy," Ozpin said gently, cupping her cheek. "What's the last thing you remember?"

She bit her lip, then her eyes started to fill with tears. "There was...smoke...and...and something...the building was collapsing…"

"I…" Ozpin said slowly. "Chrissy, that was eighteen years ago."

She was silent but then pulled him in close to her. "No…"


	26. Chapter 26

_**May 7th  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
9:12 PM**_

Emmeline sighed heavily as she set down her rifle and walked into the living room where her daughter was sitting on the couch, reading. "Cas? Have you already eaten or -"

"Yeah, and I'm fine," She said, marking her page and then setting her book aside. "Are you okay, though? I didn't think the Council usually kept you this late."

Emmeline shook her head as she hung up her light jacket. "Extenuating circumstances, and, no, you don't get to hear about it."

Cas groaned and leaned back into the couch. "Phooey…"

Emmeline laughed. "You're always adorable, aren't you? Seventeen years old, and you're still -"

The General went silent upon hearing a noise from downstairs - almost like the door opening. Pausing even while her daughter looked at her curiously, she listened for a long moment. Having lived in the townhouse for the last eighteen and a half years, she knew all of the eccentricities of it well. The creaky stairs to third floor, for one, or the way one of the floorboards leading out to the garage wouldn't quite stick down. A doorknob that kept falling off and that she for the life of her could not figure out how to fix. The way the tile in the first floor entryway were almost perpetually slippery - so proven by the small, haughty black cat that Cas had loved since she got it at the age of nine as a kitten. Taking a step back as she heard footsteps on the stairwell, Emmeline steadied herself for a fight while Cas scuttled off to find her cat. A fight, however, was not what she got and rather, as she stepped into the kitchen attempting to appear normal as she fixed herself something small, she heard the last voice she'd ever thought she'd hear again speak.

"Emmy?" Emmett said, stepping into the room.

Emmeline froze, her heart rate increasing and her stomach feeling sick as she looked up and found herself staring face to face with her husband.

"Emmy, sweetheart, are you alright?" Emmett stared at her in concern and then hesitantly walked forward. "Emmy?"

She flinched for a brief moment as he pulled her tightly into his arms and began to stroke her hair. Wrapping her arms tightly around him, she tried to rationalise but found herself struggling.

"Emmett," She said softly. "I…"

"Rough day?" He asked her, pulling away just a little to gently graze his knuckles over her cheek. "I've been kinda disoriented. Probably just because of -"

"Mommy?" Cas said, coming back into the room and then staring when she saw her mother tightly in the arms of the man she could have sworn was her father. "Mommy -"

"Emmy, who's that?" Emmett asked her, completely confused. "I thought...aren't you pregnant with Casey or Aidan?"

Emmeline took a deep breath, still barely able to comprehend what she thought was happening. "Emmett, that's our daughter. Casey Emmeline Ciel-Schnee."

"It's Cassiea!" Cas exclaimed indignantly. "And -"

"Cas," Emmeline said, motioning her towards the couch. "Sit down, please."

She did so, her hands shaking. "Mommy, what's happening?"

"Emmy," Emmett said, taking her hands in his. "How is she already -"

"Emmett, you're going to want to sit down as well," She said, motioning him towards the spot next to where their daughter was. "This...I'm not even sure…"

Cas hesitantly reached over the little she needed to and placed a hand to her father's shoulder. "Oh...so you are real."

Emmett laughed, a bit amused. "Of course I am, Cassie."

Emmeline bit her lip but then spoke. "Emmett, eighteen years ago there was a White Fang attack against the SDC and the kingdom of Atlas. You, Cristal, and the board of directors were caught in the midst of it and...and were killed."

He stared at her in disbelief for a moment. "No, that's impossible."

"Tell me," She said, her voice shaking. "Do you have _any_ memories from the last eighteen years other than -"

"I remember a ceiling caving in and the floor giving way, and then...and then…" Emmett trailed off and then stared at his wife as he pushed up his glasses. "No...that's…"

"I can't even explain what happened…" She said, feeling sick. "And -"

"I believe I can remedy your confusion, General Ciel," A familiar voice said, stepping into the room with his arm wrapped tightly around an equally familiar small, white haired woman.

"Ozpin?" She stared at him for a moment, and then to the woman. "Cristal?"

"Hi…" She said weakly.

"Chrissy?" Emmett looked at his twin sister in complete bemusement. "What -"

"I clued her in on the drive here and down in the Vault," Ozpin said, running his hands through his tousled grey locks. "And on what we're going to tell the media."

"Ozpin," Emmeline said, her voice shaking. "What did you do and how are you...how are you exactly like you were -"

"General Ciel," He said gently. "I assure you you're not going mad. I simply used the Relic Of Creation to not only restore myself but to bring back Chrissy and Emmett."

Emmett raised an eyebrow. "When you say 'bring back'..."

"We were dead…" Cristal said, her voice breaking. "We were dead for eighteen fucking years, Jacques has control of the SDC -"

"Jacques has -" Emmett started.

"But I guess you and I were really MIA and _not_ dead," She finished, biting her lip. "Or at least that's what the world is going to be told. Oz says he's just going to have 'turned up' after the Fall of Beacon -"

"I am so damn confused," Emmett said, shaking his head. "Where...where do we even begin?"

"First off," Emmeline said, brushing away tears from her eyes. "Cas is our daughter, and -"

Emmett suddenly stood up and embraced her tightly. "Emmy...you're...you didn't remarry, did you?"

Emmeline's eyes went wide in surprise. "Emmett, of course I didn't! I had a daughter to take care of, I had a job, and I never quite -"

Emmett pressed his lips softly against hers for a long moment. "I love you…"

"I love you too…" She whispered, tears falling against her will. "I'm so glad I have you back."

"Me too, sweetheart, me too," He said, rubbing her back. "I have you, Cas, our friends…"

"So…" Cristal said, looking to Ozpin. "We're still getting married, aren't we?"

Ozpin nodded and kissed her cheek. "Of course we are, Chrissy."

"Just one more thing," She said, a small smile gracing her face. "I'm thirty nine now, aren't I?"

"Yes," He said, not admitting that he had brought them back to be a bit younger than they would have been had they never died in the first place.

"And…" She sighed as she went on. "Oz, I still want us to have a family."

He gave her a gentle squeeze. "And we will. I promise."

Cas awkwardly glanced around before standing up. "I am so not going to be the normal chick...ever. I was always viewed as some sort of weirdo...and now my family is proving it."

Emmett turned to look at his daughter. "Cas, you're not -"

"Really," She said. "I'm a bit eccentric."

Emmeline rolled her eyes. "You're exaggerating."

She shrugged. "I'm going to sleep...and I'm going to try and make any damn sense of my life."

"Oh, believe me," Emmett said, looking pointedly at Ozpin. "We're all going to be doing that. Probably for a long time"

Ozpin shook his head as they all sat down. "Please, Emmett, General Ciel...allow me to explain."

Emmeline wrapped an around her husband, rested her head on his shoulder, and then motioned for him to go on. "Then speak, damn it."

 **A/N: Next chapter focuses a bit more on Team RWBY, Winter, Qrow, James, and Glynda. And so begins another wild ride.**


	27. Chapter 27

_**May 8th  
Atlas Academy  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
5:23 PM**_

"Today was a good day!" Ruby said cheerfully as she and her teammates made their way through the grounds of the Atlesian huntsman academy. "And since we're attending school here in Atlas now -"

"Ruby, take a chill pill," Yang said, punching her cousin in the arm. "Just 'cause we're going to get to go on a training mission in June doesn't mean that you can freak the hell out so soon."

She pouted. "Hey…"

"Mommy, why do I have to be here?" A high pitched voice said from nearby. "It's a Saturday, and -"

"Because it's good for you to get out of the house, no, I don't care that you had ballet today, and it's good not hole up," A polished voice replied. "I love you, Caity, but it's good for you to get out."

"Elizabeth," James said, stepping forward with Glynda by his side on the other side of the courtyard, and the teens paused to watch. "I'm glad you were able to meet. There's something we need to discuss before it becomes public news."

Caitlin's face brightened. "Ooo...mommy...can I -"

"Classified?" Elizabeth asked James, and he nodded.

"For now," He said. "And parts of it will always remain classified."

Glynda snorted. "That's an understatement."

"Caitlin," Elizabeth said, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Let me deal with this. You can wander, just don't leave the grounds."

Her face fell for a moment but then she nodded. "Alright…"

Elizabeth embraced her daughter for a moment before she began to walk towards James' office with him and Glynda. Caitlin stared after her mother for a moment before she pulled her scroll and a pair of purple earbuds out of her pocket. Plugging the earbuds into her scroll, she sighed heavily as she began to look through her playlist. Settling on a song, she breathed a heavy sigh as she listened to the opening bars and then, with the full power of her high voice, began to sing as she walked. Her green eyes remained mostly on the ground as she walked - her rose patterned converses shuffling as she moved quickly and catching on her black, boot cut jeans. Tugging on the long ruched sleeves of her tight ballet pink top over which she wore a tight black vest with a plunging neckline and an upward curving hem, she tried to focus all her thoughts on the music rather than the tumultuous emotions she felt towards her less than stellar social life.

"I never knew," She sang, several octaves higher than the original male singer had. "I never knew that everything was falling through, that everyone I knew was waiting on a cue. To turn and run when all I needed was the truth. But that's how it's got to be, it's coming down to nothing more than apathy. I'd rather run the other way than stay and see the smoke, and who's still standing when it clears…"

"Who's that?" Ruby asked Weiss.

Weiss smiled. "Caitlin Morell. She's one of my friends, although I think it's pretty clear that she hasn't seen us."

"She's really good," Blake commented. "As a singer, I mean. And that high voice of hers is cute."

"A lot of people make fun of it," Weiss admitted quietly. "Her own brother jokes that if she breathed helium that her voice would only be audible to -"

"The faunus and animals," Blake finished. "Well, I still think she's cute."

"She's on your mind...let's rearrange," Caitlin sang on, still completely unaware of her surroundings as she walked. "I wish you were a stranger; I could disengage. Say that we agree and then never change. Soften a bit until we all just get along, but that's disregard. Find another friend, and you discard as you lose the argument in a cable car hanging above as the canyon comes between. Everyone knows I'm in over my head, over my head. With eight seconds left in overtime, she's on your mind. She's on your mind…"

Yang smiled. "I wonder how long it will be until she notices us."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Probably when she looks up."

"When will that be?" Ruby asked her.

Weiss shrugged. "Probably soon...ish."

"With eight seconds left in overtime," Caitlin began to bop along to the music as she sang on. "She's on your mind, she's on your mind...and suddenly I become a part of your past. I'm becoming the part that don't last. I'm losing you, and it's effortless...without a sound we lose sight of the ground in the throw around. Never thought that you wanted to bring it down. I won't let it go down until we torch it ourselves. Everyone knows I'm in over my head, over my head. With eight seconds left in overtime, she's on your mind. She's on your mind. Everyone knows she's on your mind. Everyone knows I'm in over my head. I'm in over my head I'm in over my...everyone knows I'm in over my head, over my head. With eight seconds left in overtime, she's on your mind. She's on your mind…"

Weiss rolled her eyes as Caitlin collapsed against a tree sat leaning against it with her legs out. "Caitlin Marianne Morell!"

The small girl flinched, her green eyes wide behind her glasses. Pulling out an earbud, she sighed. "Weiss?"

Weiss motioned for her teammates to follow her over to where the small girl was. "Hey. What's up?"

Caitlin hesitated but then groaned. "Well, my classes are going fine but mommy brought me here and then wouldn't let me listen to something classified that she's going to discuss with Glynda and James. It's not fair, it's going to be in the media in a few days anyways - at least, according to them…"

"You really like being the first to know everything, don't you?" Weiss said, reaching down to pull her up to her feet. "I've always been jealous of your height. 5'3''. I'm two inches shorter than you."

Caitlin scowled. "Yeah, yeah. And, yes, I like being the first to know everything."

"You and Cas are so similar in that regard," Weiss remarked. "She's always been like that too, with Emmeline."

"Who's Cas?" Ruby asked her.

"My cousin," Weiss said, sighing. "My father had always...always told me that her parents had split but really...my…"

"Emmett died, along with Cristal, and the SDC's board of directors, Atlas Sector, in the events of -" Caitlin started, but Weiss cut her off.

"Not in the mood, smarty pants," She said, and Caitlin rolled her eyes.

"Sorry," She said, then looking to Blake and Yang. "So.."

"Oh, right!" Weiss said, smiling. "These are my teammates! Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long."

Yang grinned. "Hey shortie."

"I swear to god," Caitlin said. "If you call me shortie for the rest of my life, I'll kill you."

Yang punched her shoulder. "How about cutie?"

"Are you flirting?" She asked her, an eyebrow raised.

Blake laughed. "She's probably a little."

Yang looked at her in mock horror. "I am not!"

Ruby giggled. "Aww...Yang, you can acknowledge your true self. A little flirt."

Yang glared. "Hey, that's not fair!"

"Not much is," Caitlin commented dryly. "Welcome to the world."

"More than you even know," Yang muttered. "Oz and all this shit can tell you something about that."

"Huh?" Caitlin stared at all of them in confusion, her green eyes wide behind her glasses. "What is 'Oz and all this shit'?"

Ruby bit her lip but then looped an arm around her. "Come on, Morell! Let's clue you in on the reality of this world so you can help make it better!"

* * *

To her credit, Elizabeth Morell didn't faint when she stepped into James' office and saw herself face to face with the last two people she had ever expected to see again, let alone Ozpin as he had been at the Fall. She did, however, look rather sick, and her gait became unsteady as she sat down and Glynda shut the door behind them and locked it. James started to pace, and there was a long silence that hung over them for several minutes that felt to be significantly more than that. Probing her forehead, Elizabeth tried to make sense of what was happening without the cause being her own insanity although that was towards the forefront of her thoughts. There was no line of logic, to her, that could explain what was happening. Finally breaking the silence, General Emmeline Ciel gently pulled herself out of Emmett's embrace and came over to the woman and placed a hand to her shoulder.

"Liz," She said softly. "Believe me, I know what you're feeling. I thought I was going crazy too and, honestly, a part of me hasn't quite ruled that out."

Elizabeth sighed. "Can someone please explain to me what is going on?" She said, slipping into her usual authority as if she was in a meeting with the DFAMA or the security council.

Ozpin stepped forward. "I understand that this is shocking for everyone involved."

"How the hell can Jacques have control over the SDC?" Cristal demanded, then shaking her head. "Nevermind, I think I know. The better question is what the hell he's going to do when I -"

"Chrissy," Ozpin said gently, wrapping an arm tightly around her. "Please calm down, and don't let your anxiety get to you over this."

"How can I -" She cut herself off and then sat down on one of the chairs, all but curling into herself. "I just don't even know…"

Glynda sighed. "Ozpin, what did you do?"

Elizabeth looked up and then sent the man a sharp look. "Yes, what did you do?"

Ozpin turned to James. "Your security for the Relic is excellent, James, not that I would have expected anything less from Atlas."

James raised an eyebrow, leaning against his desk with arms crossed. "Oz, what are you talking about?"

"I…" He sighed heavily. "I used the Relic of Creation to restore myself to this state and to also restore Chrissy and Emmett. I've already explained this to them, and, of course, Emmeline -"

"General Ciel," She said, her voice clipped even as she let Emmett affectionately wrap an arm around her and kiss her cheek.

Ozpin was silent for a moment. "I've already explained this to everyone involved, including Casseia Ciel-Schnee. But as this will become national - no, _international_ \- news in a few days, I thought that it would be best to inform those closest to the matter of what really happened."

"When you say closest," Elizabeth said slowly. "You refer to the people in this room, my husband, and the Adels?"

Ozpin nodded. "Yes., but also President Ciel, Kiara Davis, and Karissa Mar."

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment before shaking her head. "And your cover for the media?"

"Emmett and Chrissy were simply MIA rather than dead," Ozpin said, looking to his fiance lovingly. "And I finally turned up after the Fall."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "I suppose that works."

A weighty silence passed between them until Glynda spoke.

"Emmett, Cristal," She said slowly. "There's something else you two should know."

"If it's that -" Cristal started.

"I promise it's not going to piss you two off," She said, smiling as James gently squeezed her hand. "It's actually that I...I'm pregnant."

The Schnee twins stared at their teammate for a moment before Cristal tightly embraced her. "Oh, that's wonderful! I'm so happy for you two, I really am."

Emmett nodded. "That's great, Glyns."

Elizabeth bit her lip as she stood up. "So...how exactly are we going to make this public?"

* * *

Winter sighed as she continued to look through various reports on her scroll. "Of course…"

"Something happen?" Qrow asked her as he came into the room. "Or are you just working?"

She scowled. "Qrow, I'm not in the mood for you to throw jabs around at my work."

He put up his hands. "Sorry."

She sighed. "There's just quite a few reports of increased grimm activity in the outskirts of the City Of Mantle. I suppose that's not too unusual, but it's concerning nonetheless."

"Well, Atlas ain't exactly known for having a high concentration of grimm," He said, setting down his flask and then sitting down next to her on the couch. "Do you have any missions coming up soon?"

She shook her head. "No, why?"

"I was considering going back to Vale," He admitted, rubbing his neck. "I heard from Port and Oobleck that it's safer than it has ever been to go back to Beacon, and I want to at least see how far we've come in repairing the Academy."

Winter raised an eyebrow. "How long would you be gone?"

"A few weeks," He said, taking her hands in his. "But I promise I'd be safe."

"I don't doubt that," She said, hesitating as she went on. "But I'm not too sure I want you to go. It is still dangerous, and if there was a grimm attack you could be easily overwhelmed -"

"Win," Qrow said, gently pressing a hand to her cheek. "Are you worried about me because you don't want me to go?"

She stared at him and didn't respond.

"Oh my god," He said, his red eyes going wide in realisation. "You don't want me to go, do you?"

"I never said that," She looked away, glancing out the window at the slowly darkening sky. "Don't take words out of my mouth."

"You're sure as hell implying it," He said, then sighing. "Win, if you want me to stay you just have to tell me so."

She bit her lip. "Qrow, I am not going to tell you to -"

"You ain't telling me to do anything," He said, pulling her tightly into him. "You're just admitting that you want me to stay with you."

"I…" She groaned. "Qrow, please -"

"I'll stay with you," He said, giving her a gentle squeeze. "You might not want to say it, but I can read you, Win."

She was silent and simply closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I love you," He murmured, a hand gently running up and down her back. "I love you so much, and I want us to be happy."

"I…" She whispered. "I love you too…"

"I know," He said, kissing her cheek. "You and I...damn it."

"What is it?" She stared at him as he reached for his buzzing scroll. "Qrow -"

"James," He said, answering it quickly. "What?"

"Qrow, there are a few things you should...be aware of," He said, sighing heavily. "Before they become public news."

Qrow raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What?"

"Relating to Ozpin, the Relics…" James paused but then went on. "And Emmett and Cristal Schnee."

"They've been dead -" Qrow started.

"...Allow me to explain," Ozpin said in the background. "...Please, James."

A silence passed over the line before Ozpin spoke.

"Qrow," He said slowly. "You should be aware that, in short, I used the Relic Of Creation not only to restore my -"

"Oh god…" Qrow said.

"And to restore my fiance, Chrissy, and Emmett Schnee," Ozpin finished. "I'll explain more later, but the -"

Qrow set his scroll down and turned to Winter who was still looking at him in confusion. "Win, I think there are more than a few reasons, now, for me to stay in Atlas."

* * *

Elizabeth Morell hummed to herself as she finished pulling her hair up into a messy bun. Stepping into the living room, she brushed off the silk sleeves of her tight pyjamas and ignored her scroll as it started to go off repeatedly. Forcing herself to stick to her 'rule' of not taking calls for work after ten in the evening, she set her scroll on the charging dock and pulled out her laptop to check her personal email. Several minutes passed, but it wasn't until she was closing her computer that it occurred to her that she hadn't unplugged her curling iron. Running into the nearby first floor powder room to unplug it, she did so quickly and then started turning off the lights. With her husband on the western coast of Atlas rather than the mid eastern coast where the kingdom's capital was for his work in both the military and a civilian investigative firm, she was fairly confident that things would remain quiet at this time of night. It was eleven thirty, and her thirteen year old son had, presumably, gone to sleep hours before. Her seventeen year old daughter had finished work for her classes earlier than she'd expected to, and Elizabeth assumed she was asleep as well but the hesitant footsteps coming down the stairs proved her wrong.

"Caity," Elizabeth said tiredly. "I know it's Saturday night, but you really should get some sleep."

"I just had a question," She said, biting her lip and fidgeting with her hair.

Elizabeth sighed as she started up the stairs with her daughter. "What about?"

"Ozpin, Salem, the secret war..." Caitlin said, and Elizabeth's deep brown eyes went wide. "Mommy, are you -"

"Caitlin," Elizabeth said, her voice shaking. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about," She said stubbornly. "Ruby, Weiss -"

"Oh my god..." Elizabeth said, pausing for a moment and probing her forehead. "Caity, I never wanted you to know about...to get caught up in..."

"Mommy, are you -" Caitlin started worriedly.

"The only reason I'm tied to any of that is because of what..." Elizabeth bit her lip. "Because of what Cinder did to me. She was..."

"Involved with Salem," Caitlin finished. "They told me."

Elizabeth pulled her daughter tightly into her. "Damn your curiosity. I love you, I'm proud of you and your brilliance, but it scares me. We all have the same flaw, your father, brother, you, and I, and it's that we like to know too much..."

 **A/N: Fair Warning: Next chapter (and those that follow) are generally going to be much heavier.**


	28. Chapter 28

_**May 12th  
Schnee Dust Company  
World Headquarters  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
9:13 AM**_

Cristal Annabelle Schnee sighed heavily as she brushed her fingers over the ornate wood desk in the CEO's office. Leaning back in the plush chair, the small woman couldn't help but roll her eyes at the look of the room. Even apart from the large portrait of a younger Jacques hanging in one corner, which she had mercilessly pulled down, the room was, to her, an overdone mess. Sleek simplicity, she thought, was a much better look and she decided that she would re do the room to her tastes after she regained control over the SDC. Glancing at her faint reflection in the window, she trailed her fingers through her thick white curls before adjusting her thin glasses. Closing her eyes as she attempted to calm her anxiety, she waited until she heard the door open to stand up, smirk, and lean forward slightly with her palms firmly pressed against the desk.

"Look who's back," She said, and Jacques found himself stunned to the point where he could not move nor come back with a sharp reply. "Ah, see, it was a genuine pain in my ass to get the hell out of Argus in Mistral after the attacks, but I survived. As it turns out, Emmett did too. So...now I wonder what that means for you…"

"You…" Jacques spluttered before glowering. "The deeds of the company were transferred to me because of your death -"

"But are they valid if I never died and simply became MIA?" She countered, pushing aside the anxious feeling coursing through her and instead retaining her smirk. "Ah, tell me, how specific was that clause?"

"It…" Jacques took in a deep breath before going on. "Open ended, but because of your perceived demise -"

"Believe me when I say this," Cristal hopped over the desk, her heels scratching the wooden surface. "I will fight you for this company, and I will take it back."

Jacques narrowed his eyes. "Who do you think you are?"

"I know who I am," She replied. "Cristal Annabelle Schnee."

Jacques' gaze fell to her left hand, on which a rather large sapphire was glinting. "Are you engaged?"

Cristal glanced to her hand and then smiled. "Oh, right! And Oz and I are still getting married."

"I presume you haven't made your status as alive public yet?" Jacques hissed. "Your brother either?"

Cristal scowled. "As it happens, we're doing such in a few hours."

Jacques shook his head. "You have no idea what you're messing with."

"An asshole?" She countered. "Because you are nothing more or less than that. You don't change, Jacques."

He glared as she sauntered out of the room, not responding until the door had slammed behind her. "Neither do you."

Cristal smirked to herself once more as she pulled out her scroll and briskly walked passed stunned secretaries and business associates, her heels clicking. Stepping into the lift, she adjusted the diamond and sapphire clip in her hair but looked up in surprise when the doors to the lift opened once again on the sixth floor and she found herself face to face with one of the last people she would have expected to be at the SDC for any reason. The small blue eyed woman stared at the tall red eyed man, smacking the button to keep the doors open as the shock both of them were feeling had consumed them for a brief moment. Shaking his head and stepping into the lift as he pulled out his flask, Qrow sighed and took a sip before addressing the woman who had crossed her arms to stop her hands from shaking.

"Holy hell," Qrow said, trying make sense of what he was seeing. "I know Oz said you...that he'd brought you and Emmett back...but...god, you don't look a day over thirty."

Cristal sighed. "Good to see you still have a sense of humour, Qrow."

"Hey," He said, putting his hands up. "I'd known you since you were seventeen."

She bit her lip, pushed up her glasses, and then forced herself to speak. "The hell were you doing here?"

"I think I could ask you the same thing," He replied. "Considering you're no longer the CEO and Emmett is no longer the COO."

"Turns out," She said, with her perfect smirk. "That the clause which transferred the deeds to Jacques were provisional in the case that I and Emmett were _in fact_ deceased. But -"

"You were deceased," He reminded her. "Both of you died in the attacks and were only -"

"Ah," She said, clicking her tongue. "But the world's going to, at noon today, be told that we'd only been MIA. I'm going to fight a damn good fight against Jacques in court, and I _will_ win."

Qrow shook his head as they stepped out of the lift and into the first floor lobby. "Still over confident, I see."

Cristal winked. "Who ever said I'd changed?"

"You'd think that being stuck in Argus as a waitress at some grimy inn would change a person," He said, winking back and going with the cover story she, Oz, Emmeline and Emmett had finalised the night before. "But I suppose you're still the heiress we always remembered you as."

Cristal laughed. "I was the CEO, not an heiress."

"You were the heiress to a massive fortune and -" Qrow stopped upon hearing a crash just in front of them followed by a noise almost akin to a squeak.

"Cr...Cristal?" Willow Schnee stared at her little sister as tears rose in her eyes. "What...no...how are you…"

"Hi…" Cristal said quietly, rubbing her neck. "How have you been?"

"I…" Willow continued to stare even as people began to clean up the shattered wine glass that she had dropped. "I thought...you and Emmett…"

"I know," Cristal said, taking in a deep breath as her anxiety began to rise, unsure of what to even say to her sister whom she had not been on good terms with the last time they had spoken. "I have to go."

With that, she ran out into surprisingly sunny day to where her car was parked out front while her sister and Qrow watched, unable to think of what to say.

* * *

"Lily!" Allison Adel called up the stairwell. "Honey, please come down."

"I don't want to…" She said quietly. "I look ridiculous."

Allison sighed. "I'll place that beret on your head so it perfectly covers the way Heather cut your bangs."

"I still look ridiculous…" She said. "Please don't make me go to class, mommy."

Allison was silent for a long moment but then sighed again. "Fine. But just for today, okay?"

"Okay…" Lily said, poking her head out of her room. "Can I have a hug?"

Allison ran up the stairs as best she could in her heels to embrace her youngest daughter. "Of course, Lily. You're my little girl, after all."

"Allie!" Blake called. "Can you come down here?"

Allison released her daughter and then started quickly down the stairs. "What is it, Blakey?"

"In the living room," He said, and she almost tripped as she ran into the room but instead was caught by her husband, his green eyes wide. "Allie, please don't hurt yourself."

She bit her lip upon him grimacing when she accidentally steadied herself on his left. "Don't try too hard with your left shoulder, Blake."

He sighed and kissed her softly. "You know how I am."

"You two are just as sweet as I remember," A voice that was all too familiar said, standing up and coming over to one of her closest friends and embracing her tightly. "I missed you, Al."

Allison's eyes went wide as she stared. "Chrissy?"

"Yeah," The small woman said with a smile. "I...I'm back."

"Oh my god…" Allison breathed, tears forming in her eyes. "How…"

"Ozpin," Blake said, giving his wife a gentle squeeze. "He brought her back with one of the Relics. Emmett too."

"But we're going to tell people that we were just MIA," Cristal said, giving Blake a pointed look. "You know how this has to work."

"I'm the head of the investigative committee, and a member of the Atlesian security council," He replied, teasingly swatting at her arm. "So, yes, I understand."

"I never thought that I'd see you again…" Allison said, brushing away tears. "I thought that…"

"I know…" Cristal said, her voice breaking. "But...here I am…"

"How'd Emmeline take it when...when she saw Emmett?" Allison bit her lip as Blake gently brushed his thumb under her eye where more tears were falling against her will. "Did she -"

"She was...almost numb at first," Cristal admitted, rubbing her arm. "But she was happy. Cas too, actually. She never knew her father, and now she gets to…"

"I'm so glad you're back…" Allison whispered as she wrapped her arms tightly around Cristal once more.

"Me too…" Cristal whispered. "Me too…"

"So," Blake said with a smile. "I noticed your ring. I also know, from Glynda, that Ozpin is back. You two still engaged?"

Cristal glanced at her left hand. "Yes. I was so relieved that he still loves me -"

"Don't be ridiculous, of course he does," Allison said as Blake wrapped an arm around her once more. "I can't imagine it any differently."

"He did say that there are a few things he needs to tell me before, though," Cristal's grey eyes anxiously began to scan the room as a form of distraction from her thoughts. "I'm a bit worried, to be honest. He said it has to do with Salem, and -"

"Chrissy," Blake said gently. "I'm sure it will be fine, don't get yourself worked up over it. It's probably just things that he's learned over the last eighteen years. Hell, eighteen years ago I didn't even know who Allie's -"

"Blake -" Allison started, her voice picking up speed as she found her own anxiety rising.

"Do you want to tell her?" He asked her gently, and she hesitated. "You don't have to if you don't want to. I just think it might be easier on all of us if she knows."

Cristal raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Allison sighed heavily. "Cristal, you remember how I told you that my mother and I left my father because he was abusive, right?"

She nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

"But...I never admitted who he is…" Allison hung her head almost shamefully. "Arthur Watts….he's my father, and I didn't even tell Blake until almost a year after you...after you died because he hadn't escaped prison until then and I...that was also the same night that I...that I told him I was pregnant with Heather...and the same night he threatened us the first time."

Cristal looked at her in horror. "He's threatened you more than once?"

"Shot Blake's left shoulder a few years ago in an attempt to kill him," Allison admitted, tears rising in her eyes even as Blake comfortingly rubbed her back. "And even though he hasn't been in the kingdom since then, he has, though others, continued to send us threats that I know he can act upon if he truly wants to."

"None of that's your fault," Cristal told her, still struggling to comprehend everything that had changed in the world. "You're...you're still Allie."

"See?" Blake said, cupping his wife's cheek. "Chrissy agrees with the rest of us that you're still the same person. You're not your father, and it's just shitty luck that he's the kind of person he is."

Allison bit her lip. "You're seeing the best in me."

"Sounds like he's being realistic," Cristal noted, and Allison sighed. "I haven't been around the last eighteen years, but Blake and the rest of them have been. If they say you're not like him, then you're not. I believe them."

"Listen to Chrissy," Blake said, and Allison was silent for a long moment. "Allie, you know I love you. At least accept the fact that I will never leave you."

She stared at him, eyes wide before she kissed him passionately. "I love you too…"

"I know, honey, I know," Blake held her close, a slight sadness in his green eyes. "I just wish you didn't feel you had to compensate for something that isn't your fault."

"Screw listening to me," Cristal said, twisting her curls in her hands. "Listen to your husband, the man who loves you more than anything. He literally took a bullet for you, by the sound of it."

Allison bit her lip but then nodded. "It's good to have you back. Really, it is."

* * *

Emmeline smiled as she woke up and found Emmett's arms tightly around her. "Hey…"

"Hey…" He said kissing her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," She said, shifting to face him. "I'm so glad you're here with me."

"I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart," He promised, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "I have a media appearance at noon, but that's it. The rest of the day can be for you, me, and Cassie."

Emmeline laughed as he began to kiss her neck. "I really missed you."

"I know," He said, cupping her cheek. "But I'm here now, and I'm never going to leave you."

She nodded, her brown eyes wide. "Good."

"There is something I did want to ask you, though," Emmett said, helping her up and then wrapping an arm tightly around her waist. "About Cas."

Emmeline looked to him in concern. "What is it?"

"Did she…" Emmett bit his lip. "Did she inherit my abilities as a psychic?"

Emmeline sighed. "Sort of. She can pick up imprints of memories on objects or really just anything in general. I've helped her though dealing with them over the years, but they can be stressful for her. When she was thirteen, she picked up your wedding ring which I had kept in our room and she wore it to her classes on her middle finger. It must have looked ridiculous, but it certainly explains why I got a call in between meetings about the fact that my thirteen year old daughter had been fiddling with 'her ring' and then burst into tears in the middle of class."

"So she…" Emmett started in realisation.

"I got her to admit what she'd seen," Emmeline said, biting her lip. "The only thing that they'd found in the rubble relating to you was that ring and they could tell because of the engraving on the inside."

"My full name in script," Emmett said, glancing at the ring on his hand and then pulling her tightly into him. "Oh, Emmy…"

"The poor girl saw the...the building collapsing," Emmeline admitted softly. "And you. That was one of the memories tied to it, and while I'm not surprised it was -"

"It must have been damn near traumatic for a thirteen year old," Emmett finished, and she nodded. "I feel so bad for her, it doesn't sound like she's had it easy."

"She's had it easier than a lot of people," Emmeline said, sighing. "But by no means does that mean she hasn't been through some rough things. That was one of them."

Emmett took her hand tightly in his as the two of them started down the stairs. "If you and Cas want to go to the interview, you can."

Emmeline hesitated. "Are you sure? It's already going to be stressful, and with the cover story -"

"Emmy, honestly," Emmett said gently. "It might be a little easier knowing that I still have the two of you. My wife, my little girl even though she's not really little -"

"I'm 5'2''," Cas called from the living room, and both Emmett and Emmeline laughed. "I think that counts as little."

"I'm 5'2'',' Emmeline reminded her.

Cas turned slightly and then shrugged. "I guess you're little too, mommy."

Emmeline rolled her eyes. "I guess you did inherit the sharp wit both your father and I possess."

"My viciousness, I hope not," Emmett sighed. "I swear to god, if Ashlynn-Cinder is still out there and trying to wreak havoc on us -"

"She probably is," Emmeline admitted. "But she's not in the kingdom. Last I heard, she's in Mistral."

"She hasn't bothered us in a while though, has she?" Cas asked her mother, her pale blue eyes wide. "Right?"

"She hasn't," Emmeline said slowly. "But the last time was only two years ago, and -"

"She's a heartless bitch," Cas said, crossing her arms. "Cinder Fall, what a -"

"That's enough, Cas," Emmeline said sharply. "We can discuss shit like that later. Why don't we head out to that small cafe downtown and spend some time together as a family before the interview at noon?"

Cas sighed but then nodded. "Alright. I'll go change."

Emmett smiled as he kissed his wife's forehead. "I like her. She's a lot like both of us. Seems to me like she has mainly our good traits."

"She's protective and defensive like you too," Emmeline said as he gave her a gentle squeeze. "I'm just glad we actually have the chance to be a family."

"Oh, Emmy…" Emmett said, kissing her softly. "Believe me, I am too. I love you so much."

Emmeline smiled. "I love you too."

* * *

The Schnee twins shared a long look before stepping out into the studio as the cameras, microphones, and reporters from numerous news outlets from not only the kingdom of Atlas but from the other kingdoms as well readied themselves for the interview. Sighing heavily as she sat down, Cristal crossed her legs at the knee despite knowing that her mother wouldn't approve and placed her hands over them, trying to stop them from shaking. Biting at her lip, she stared at her feet while the final preparations were made for the heavily broadcast interview. Emmett too had his own anxiety, but was a bit more subtle than his sister. Glancing around, he adjusted his white leather jacket every so often and tried not to think too hard about everything that was happening. Knowing Emmeline and Cas were just off the view of the cameras and in the curtains with Ozpin helped, but only so much.

"In 5…" The producer began. "4...3...2.."

"Eighteen years ago, we thought that one of the greatest tragedies to strike the kingdom of Atlas, and, indeed, the world had killed two of its brightest minds and talented business leaders - amongst many others," Leta Carson started. "But, it turns out, Cristal Annabelle Schnee and her twin brother, Emmett Arthur Schnee, survived the attacks and had ended up in Mistral. Miss Schnee, tell me, how long did it take before you and your brother crossed paths?"

Cristal looked up, a bit startled but then sighed. "About sixteen years. I was stuck in Argus, a hot mess, barely getting by and I believe he was in the City Of Mistral. Considering the distance, and the fact that we were both pretty convinced that we were the sole survivor of the attack, it's not surprising how long it took. Although it only took a little after that for us to come up with and manage a plan to get back to the kingdom of Atlas."

"You were working as a waitress in Argus, is that right?" Carson asked, and Cristal nodded. "Must have been quite different, considering that you had been the CEO of the largest producer of energy propellant in the world before that."

"You would think," Cristal said slowly. "That because of the military presence Atlas has in that part of Mistral that someone would have realised who I was but I was not that lucky. I had to learn to...I believe the phrase is 'suck it up'."

Carson laughed. "You are correct on that count, Miss Schnee. Now, Mister Schnee, about your time in the Mistrali capital…"

"I stayed on the down low," Emmett said, rubbing his neck. "Mainly worked as a weapons tech. Cristal and I both attended and graduated from Atlas Academy as fully trained huntsmen, so it's not as if we were defenseless. I did a few other odd jobs involving fine tuning weapons, but I mainly repaired them. Had a shitty apartment in the lower district in the capital that I could barely afford. It was definitely strange having had my life affluence taken away so abruptly like that. But, after I heard a rumour from one of the huntsman I'd been working with, that Cristal was alive in Argus, I guess I got a bit hopeful. Went out there, and, sure enough, she was there. After that, we got a bit of luck with one of the transports and got back to Atlas just before the borders closed."

Carson nodded. "That's incredible. I suppose no one can really kill the Schnees."

Cristal scoffed. "You can try, but it's not going to work. Jacques should know that better than anybody."

Carson raised an eyebrow. "Your brother in law?"

"Exactly," Cristal said, adjusting her glasses as she spoke. "He's damned the family, but I sure as hell am going to take _my_ company back from him."

"That sounds like a difficult endeavour," Carson commented.

"I don't care that it will be difficult," She said stubbornly. " _I'll_ be damned before I let him be the one defining what it is to be a Schnee. He's not even a Schnee to begin with! _He_ married into the family!"

Several reporters applauded, followed by the majority of the room and the silence did not come until nearly a minute later.

"I have to agree with my sister," Emmett said, pushing up his own glasses. "Jacques really has done a number on the company and the family name."

Carson nodded but then sighed. "How did General Ciel take it when she found out you were alive? As I understand it, she never remarried after your apparent death, and the two of you have seventeen year old daughter."

Emmett smiled. "I think I kind of shocked her, to be honest. But both of them were happy, and, honestly, I was so glad to see her and Cas - even though it was a bit strange to realise that my daughter is seventeen."

"It's all rather shocking," Carson agreed. "To say the very least. Now, Miss Schnee, I see you're wearing what appears to be an engagement ring. Unless I am mistaken, Beacon Academy's headmaster, Ozpin, recently came to Atlas on professional business but also found out that you're alive. Are the two of you engaged once more?"

Cristal nodded. "As absurd as it may sound, yes. The two of us are still very much in love, and we are getting married."

Carson smiled, but then sighed. "All I can say, other than that I'm happy for the two of you, is that I can't help but wonder where our world is going."

"To be honest," Emmett said slowly. "I don't think any of us really know."

* * *

Winter stared as her mother finished her story. "Mother, please tell me you're joking or, at the very least, exaggerating."

"She's not," Qrow said with a heavy sigh, sitting down next to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "I was there, Win, and she's not doing either of those things. And even with hearing about this shit last night, I'm still shocked by all of it."

"I can't believe…" Willow set her wine down and buried her face in her hands. "I thought, everyone thought, that they were dead and while I'm happy they're not it's….seeing Cristal...she and I were on the worst of terms when we all thought she died, and -"

"Mother, I'm sure she's not holding onto that," Winter said as gently as she could. "That was ages ago, and I'm sure she just wants things to be as normal as possible."

Willow bit her lip and then daintily pulled off one of her gloves. Treading her fingers lightly over the glass table top, she activated her powers as the Winter Maiden and slowly iced it over. "I'm not so sure. And with everything that's changed since then...well, my relationship with your father for one…"

"I know," Winter said, sighing. "But she...this is difficult for her too. I'm sure she doesn't have any hard feelings towards you. Father, perhaps, but do you really have any objections on that score?"

Willow shook her head. "Of course not. It's just...this is stressful for me in ways that I don't imagine you can understand."

"Of course not," Winter agreed. "She's your sister, after all. And Emmett's your brother. This is an even closer issue to you than it is to any of us except for General Ciel, Casseia, and Ozpin."

"I just hope she doesn't find out about the attempts I've made on my life," Willow shook her head. "I've been going to therapy ever since I got out of that coma, but…"

"Mother, I know things are hard for you," Winter said, hesitating for a moment. "Especially because -"

"I loved your father, Winter, I really did," Willow brushed tears away from her eyes as she deactivated her powers as the Winter Maiden. "But, as I found out on Weiss' tenth birthday, he never loved me."

"Weiss, Whitley, and I all heard it," Winter admitted quietly, and her mother looked at her in shock. "I know he was only seven at the time, but he remembers. It'd be hard not to. We were looking for the two of you, we heard murmurs in his study, and then him snapping that he -"

"I never would have wanted the three of you to have heard that," Willow said, laughing dryly. "I suppose that's just our luck, isn't it?"

Qrow tensed against his will, despite knowing that Willow didn't know even the faintest bit about his semblance.

"Qrow?" Winter said, looking at him in concern. "Are you alright?"

He was silent but then nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, Win."

Willow stood up shakily and began to pace. "I just...I don't know what to do. Seeing Cristal even briefly was hard enough. What the hell is it going to feel like when I have to have an extended conversation with her? Or with Emmett, who I was on much better terms with?"

Winter bit her lip. "Mother, I don't know. I just don't."

"It's not your fault, I shouldn't be expecting you to know the answers to my problems," Willow stared out the window for a long moment before turning back to her daughter and Qrow. "This isn't fair to either of you, it really isn't. If anything, Winter, you should be coming to me for advice because I'm your mother. Of all the things I've failed miserably at in my life, being a good mother to you, Weiss, and Whitley is certainly towards the top of that list."

"Mother, please don't -" Winter started tiredly.

"Winter," Willow said, a tinge of sadness clear in her voice. "It's not your fault. It's mine."

Winter was silent as her mother ruefully picked up her bag and left her and Qrow's apartment. Shaking her head, she stood up and stepped over towards the refrigerator and pulled out a rather expensive bottle of wine. A bit to his surprise, she quickly removed the cork and poured herself a generous glass of wine and started to pace. Standing up himself, Qrow set his flask down roughly on the counter - getting her attention quickly. Sighing heavily, she set down her already half gone glass of wine and stepped around the counter to embrace him tightly. For several minutes, she remained tightly in his arms while he stroked her hair comfortingly. No words were spoken, but it seemed unnecessary in the moment. After a time, however, he finally did speak.

"Win," He said gently. "Are you alright?"

"No," She admitted. "To be honest, I can scarcely believe a damn thing that's going on anymore."

"Believe me," He said darkly. "I feel the same way. And something seems to be biting at Oz. I can't help but wonder what it might be."

"Are you sure we, are you sure that _you_ , want to know what it might be?" She asked him, and he nodded.

"Of course I do," He said, kissing her forehead. "Win, it's Oz. I can't imagine he's got anything he's so unsure of that he can't tell us about it."

Winter bit her lip. "I still don't know how I feel about him. I feel like he's not telling us something he ought to be."

"Everyone's got a few secrets," Qrow countered. "I'm sure it's nothing, Win. We've got nothing to worry about. We're making progress, we've been making progress for years, and we have a good chance at beating Salem."

"How can you be so sure?" Winter stared at him, an eyebrow raised. "Qrow -"

"I don't know," He said, sighing. "Maybe it's because I trust Oz. Other than you, he's one of the few people that's made me feel like I'm not a curse. I guess maybe that's why I defend him so much. Yeah, he's made mistakes. But so have even the best of us."


	29. Chapter 29

_**May 17th  
Atlas Academy  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
8:23 PM**_

Ruby stared at the Relic Of Knowledge before poking at it though she knew that it wouldn't do anything. Sighing as she heard the door open, she shifted away from the Relic. "General Ironwood, I know -"

"Your curiosity is more than understandable," He said, and she nodded. "To be honest, I have more than a few questions for Ozpin about it. Although if Raven Branwen had just sealed it back up, then this wouldn't have been necessary."

Ruby bit her lip. "Well, if she's just on Patch with Tai…"

"Even if she is," James said, sending the Relic a cursory glance. "We can't, and shouldn't, force her to seal it. Besides the point, Mistral is incredibly dangerous and especially now."

"Oh…" Ruby said, her gaze not rising from her hands.

"Ruby," James said after a long moment passed in silence. "Other than you and your teammates, how many people do you think are involved in this?"

She hesitated but then sighed. "Well, of course you, Professor Goodwitch, Ozpin, and dad are. Caitlin Morell at least knows -"

"Caitlin Morell?" James raised an eyebrow. "Elizabeth and Michael Morell's eldest?"

Ruby nodded. "We...kinda told her about it the other day. I think it might have freaked her out more than anything, though."

James hesitated but then started pacing. "Alright. Go on."

"I mean, considering that he brought them back I would guess Emmett and Cristal Schnee have something to do with this," Ruby said, chewing at the inside of her cheek. "General Ciel, too, I guess. And I bet Madame Morell is too."

James sighed. "That is fairly accurate, yes."

"James?" Glynda hesitated as she stepped into the room. "Miss Rose, I'm going to have to ask you to -"

"Already on it," The silver eyed girl said, quickly slipping out of the room and shutting the door behind her.

Glynda was silent for a long moment before tightly embracing her husband. "Oz said he's going to be here in about a half hour for a meeting involving Qrow, the Morells, Adels, and the Schnees. Emmett, Cristal, and Emmeline, of course."

James nodded. "Alright."

"You okay?" She asked him, and he sighed. "What is it?"

"It's nothing," He said, gently rubbing her back. "I promise."

"You say that, but it doesn't make me any less worried," She said, looking at him concern. "What's wrong?"

"Apart from everything to do with Ozpin?" He asked her, and she gave him a sharp look. "Honestly, I'm just worried about the baby, that's all."

"I am too," She admitted, taking his hand and gently resting it over her small curve. "But so far everything's been perfectly fine."

"I know that," He said, hesitating for a moment but then pulling her in close. "I just can't help but feel worried for it and for you."

"Right now we don't have any indication that we should be especially worried," She gently reminded him. "Believe me, I'm just as if not not more worried than you are. I'm just trying to be rational and calm. That's the best we can do right now."

He was silent for a moment but then nodded. "You're right. I guess...we never thought -"

"I know," She said, biting her lip for a brief moment. "But I'm three months pregnant, and I haven't lost the baby. I know it's not entirely rational, but I hope that means everything's going to be alright."

"So do I…" He murmured, holding her tightly. "I -"

"Is Ozpin -" Blake started as he all but tore open the door to the room, startling both Glynda and James as they split apart. "Oh."

"No, Ozpin's not here yet," Glynda said, gesturing to the rest of the room. "Clearly."

Blake laughed as Allison stepped in behind him and lightly smacked his good arm. "See? This is why I love my teammates."

"I'm sorry," Allison said, glaring at him for just a moment. "Who do you love more than your teammates?"

Blake smiled and softly kissed her. "My sweet little Allie, since I did in fact marry her."

Allison smirked. "Yes, you did."

"You two are impossible," Glynda said, rolling her eyes as she adjusted her glasses. "And I've known both of you for over a decade. You two are inherently affectionate, aren't you?"

"I'm just glad that some things never change," Cristal commented, stepping into the room with her heels clicking. "Oz is going to be up in a minute, he's just -"

"In a shouting match with my wife," Emmett said, sighing even as Cristal scowled. "What? You can't even deny that the two of them -"

"It's over…" Cristal bit her lip. "Nevermind. I don't want to think about it."

"Why?" Allison asked her. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," She said almost tonelessly. "Processing, but fine."

"Processing what?"Elizabeth stared at her curiously as she and MIchael slipped in. "And why are Emmeline and Ozpin arguing so loudly I'm shocked the entire city hasn't heard them?"

"That's actually a good question," Emmett said, giving his sister a pointed look. "Don't you dare try and shut this up. It's probably only going to bother you more if you do that."

Cristal sighed, shook out her long white curls, and pushed up her glasses. "I...it was just something he thought I should know relating to Salem."

Emmett raised an eyebrow. "Which was…"

Cristal's gaze fell to her feet. "That...millennia ago…"

"Woah…" Qrow said, putting up his hands in mock surrender as he stepped into the room. "Looks like she can be at a loss for words."

Cristal looked up suddenly and sent him a dark look but Allison, being closer, smacked him on the back of the head.

"Don't be a dick," She said, crossing her arms as Blake wrapped an arm around her waist. "I know it's in your nature -"

"Geez," He said, rolling his eyes. "Looks like none of you can take a joke."

"Cristal?" James said, looking at her in concern. "You don't have to -"

"Millennia ago," She said quickly, taking in a sharp breath. "Oz and Salem...were involved. They had four kids, actually, and...but she killed him and their children -"

"Minus the murder in cold blood, which doesn't surprise me considering Salem," Elizabeth said slowly, sharing a look with her husband. "We know."

Cristal stared at all of them, her grey eyes wide in shock. "You what?"

"Actually," Qrow said, giving Elizabeth a sharp look. " _I_ didn't know that, and I imagine Emmett didn't either."

"You act like that's something I would have learned in the month or so I've been back," He said, crossing his arms.

"Eh," Qrow said, shrugging. "Who knows what Emmeline tells you other than the two of you?"

"Chrissy," Glynda said gently. "I -"

Cristal suddenly collapsed into one of the chairs and started sobbing. "I...I can't believe it. I can't believe any of this! Why is the world like this, why is everything -"

"Chrissy," Ozpin ran over to his fiance even with Emmeline scowling at him and pulled her in tightly. "What is it?"

"I…" She bit her lip and curled into him despite hating how weak she felt. "Nothing, just stress."

"Chrissy," He said, rubbing her back. "I promise, everything's going to be fine. And we're getting married in a few weeks -"

"You have no…" Elizabeth took in a sharp breath as she crossed her arms and Michael placed a hand on her shoulder. "You really are the lesser of two evils in all of this. Do you have a real plan to defeat her, or are you misleading all of us? If you think _we're_ angry - us, perfectly capable and highly educated adults - then how angry do you think the teens are going to be when they find out -"

"Elizabeth," Qrow snapped. "However you feel about this and how it's -"

"Oh, yes!" She exclaimed irritably. "Go ahead, defend Oz like you always have!"

Qrow glared. "You bitch -"

"Too far," Elizabeth snapped, narrowing her eyes. "Do you -"

"You don't really care about this!" He exclaimed, and she flinched. "You, like pretty much everyone in this room, have a price - the only difference is that it's higher than theirs!"

An eerie silence passed, even as Cristal shakily stood up and Ozpin gently held the small woman that he desperately and unconditionally loved close to him.

Elizabeth took a step towards the red eyed man, her heels clicking almost menacingly. "You, Qrow, have no decency."

"This ain't a Council meeting," Qrow reminded her. "This ain't about being proper, this is about doing what's right -"

"You know what?" She said, crossing her arms. "You can act as if you didn't have a price but I'm willing to bet that you did -"

"Lizzie -" Michael started, worried that she was about to say something she would regret.

"No," She said firmly. "I'm not ashamed of this. Qrow, your whole life you've dealt with being encapsulated by negativity, by bad luck -"

"Oh god…" Allison said, shaking her head.

"And Oz gave you a chance to get away from that," Elizabeth said unapologetically. "And you hold him in such high esteem because, unlike everyone else which includes your own sister, he didn't view you as a curse like you view yourself. Even though this might just be an endless...goose chase, he -"

Without even thinking, Qrow slapped her. "What the hell is wrong with you, Elizabeth?"

She stared at him shock, her fingers barely grazing over her cheek. "You...you -"

"Lizzie," Michael said gently, pulling her in. "Are -"

"I'm not dealing with this right now," Qrow said, shaking his head sadly. "We'll talk later, Oz."

Everyone stared as he left the room, slamming the door behind him.

"What?" Elizabeth said as they all turned to her. "I'm not apologising. Everything I said was valid."

Ozpin sighed. "Elizabeth -"

"Let me ask you this," She said, trying to force herself to remain calm. "And this should be an easy question, a soft ball, if you will. Do you, or do you not, have an actual plan to defeat Salem or is this in fact a wild goose chase to keep your psychotic ex wife at bay?"

"It's not a wild goose chase," Ozpin said firmly, giving Cristal a gentle squeeze. "And while part of what we're doing is keeping her from reuniting the Relics, it is to prevent her from bringing back the gods and causing the world to die."

"So it's already dangerous, then," Glynda started, sending him a sharp look. "To have the Relic Of Knowledge here in Atlas alongside the Relic Of Creation?"

Ozpin nodded. "Yes."

"Still…" Emmeline said, an air of caution in her voice. "That doesn't answer the question of whether or not you have an actual plan."

"Emme -" Ozpin paused before going on. "General Ciel, with all due respect, you're a general. You and James, I imagine, know better than anyone else in this room that sometimes you have to make your plans as you go along."

"So Elizabeth's right?" Blake exclaimed, staring at the man in shock. "You've got to -"

"That is not what I said," Ozpin said firmly.

"That's what you implied," James countered.

"What I meant," Ozpin started as calmly as possible. "Is that, in the end, Salem will have to be weakened to a human or at least near human state because the gods tried to punish her for bringing me back with immortality."

Cristal raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"But that can be done with the powers of the four maidens," He said slowly. "And a silver eyed warrior."

"Damn good thing Qrow isn't here," Emmett remarked dryly. "Considering that he would never be happy about his daughter having to sacrifice herself because of her -"

"Ruby is Qrow's daughter?" Cristal stared at her brother in confusion. "What?"

"Yeah," Emmett sighed. "Emmy told me."

"Well, I figured if everyone else knows that you should too," Emmeline said, and Emmett smiled and took her hand. "And I agree that he won't be happy about it."

"I'm not asking Ruby to sacrifice herself," Ozpin said, sighing. "There have been too many people that have lost their lives in this war, and I don't want anyone else to die."

Glynda nodded. "So, in the end, your plan is to kill her by bringing her back to humanity or at least close to it?"

"Not kill her," Ozpin corrected. "Seal her. I don't think we can _kill_ her but I know we can seal her."

"So that's what we'll do?" Michael questioned, and he nodded. "So we bring her down to a human or human-like state and then the maidens and Ruby's silver eyes will seal her?"

"Yes," He said, looking to Cristal in concern. "But I will have to place an even stronger seal on what we seal her in."

"A Pandora's Box…" Cristal said softly.

Ozpin nodded. "Yes."

Emmett sighed as he shared a look with his wife and adjusted his glasses. "Seems like the world just keeps getting darker."

Emmeline swallowed hard, but nodded. "I know."

"So you do have a plan?" Glynda asked for clarification, and Ozpin nodded.

"Yes," He said, kissing Cristal's forehead. "But where things go...I still don't even quite know where things are going. I...to be honest, I don't know for sure if I can directly defeat her. I can and will seal her...but I can't deny that I still feel some sympathy for her. But I love Chrissy more than anything. I love her so much."

Cristal stared at him for a moment before kissing softly. "I love you too…"

* * *

"Qrow?" Winter said, sitting down next to him on the couch and placing a hand on his shoulder. "What is it?"

He sighed heavily, setting down his flask a bit roughly. "Nothing. Just something Elizabeth Morell said, that's all."

Winter raised an eyebrow. "Madame Morell said something and it's bothering you?"

"You surprised?" He asked her, then laughing dryly. "She's got good intentions, really, but she goes about dealing with the world a bit too bluntly. No wonder she has trouble with some of the people on the Council. They probably don't like feeling as if the woman who's snapping at them has more balls than them."

Winter sighed. "You know I'm going to force you to talk about this."

"Yeah, I do," He agreed, then shaking his head. "I'll probably feel better after we do, but you never know. Some of the things she said cut a little deeper than I care to admit."

Winter nodded. "I know how that feels."

Qrow bit his lip. "I know you do. After everything you went through with your father, I know that some things hurt more than they seem like they should. I get that you know how it feels, I just wish that…"

"Qrow," Winter said gently. "Please just tell me what she said. You don't even have to elaborate, but what did Madame Morell say?"

Qrow was silent but then forced him to speak. "Liz said that the reason I defend Oz is because he gave me a sense of purpose in my life in spite of my...my semblance, that all of this is a wild goose chase, and that…"

"That what?" Winter asked him, squeezing his shoulder affectionately with her blue eyes wide. "What did she say, Qrow?"

"That I have no decency," He said, staring at his hands. "And that's why all of this matters for me."

Winter shook her head. "That's not true, and, to be frank, Madame Morell shouldn't have said something like that. Not only is it not true, but it's not fair or at least something that should, whatever her feelings and thoughts, stay inside her head."

Qrow shrugged. "I think with everything she's gone through, all that shit with Cinder...well, she has more than certainly earned the right to say whatever the hell she wants - even more than everyone else does just by existing. The poor woman's been through so much, and I can't blame her for snapping in such a tense moment. Still, what she said cuts so deep, and while I do have respect for her...I can't help but feel so...I suppose hurt by this."

"Qrow," Winter said, biting at her lip. "I'm so sorry…"

"The thing that bothers me the most…" He said, sighing heavily once more. "Is that Elizabeth, for all her faults, was right."

Winter stared at him. "I don't think that's -"

"Winter, no one before you and Oz wanted me. I was cursed, and I gave my life to him because he gave me a place in this world. I thought I was finally doing some good, but…" He looked away, the feeling of dejection rising in him. "But maybe Elizabeth's right that we're not. That it's just an infinite game. Maybe meeting Oz was the worst luck of my life…"

"I don't think that's true," Winter said, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him gently. "I don't trust Oz in the way you do, with the loyalty you do...but I don't think meeting him was the worst luck of your life."

"Then I haven't reached it yet?" He asked, his eyes wide as he looked to her. "What if something happens to you?"

"It won't," She said with finality. "I promise."

Qrow pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "I hope you're right, Win, I really do."


	30. Chapter 30

_**July 23rd  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
1:34 PM**_

 _You, Qrow, have no decency...no decency...no decency…_

Elizabeth Morell's words from over two months prior reverberated in his mind even as he walked through the city with his daughter. For as much as he had tried to put the thoughts of the woman's sharp tongue out his mind, he was finding it to be difficult. Carrying conversation, as he had for the last few hours, with his daughter had been distracting but not distracting enough. His thoughts still circled around Morell and her words in spite of everything, and he was convinced that it was because there was a chance that her words, however harsh, held legitimate weight. As much as he had tried to reason away the arguments his mind produced, he was finding it difficult to rebuke her. He wanted to come back and call her out on her own faults – arrogance, amongst other things – but he found reasons for them yet could not find reasons for why she was wrong about him. It was damn painful, and it certainly had been eating away at him. Even Winter had been able to provide him little comfort for as much as she tried, and he found himself still kept awake at night, unable to find sleep, because of the words that he could not sever from himself.

 _You, Qrow, have no decency…no decency…no decency…_

"Dad?" Ruby said, looking at him in concern with her silver eyes a bit wider than usual. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" He said, snapping back into the moment. "Oh. Yeah, just got a bit on my mind."

Ruby nodded. "About the Relic?"

"About everything," He admitted, sighing. "Oz, the Relics, Salem…and…"

"And what?" Ruby asked him, raising an eyebrow. "Dad?"

He shook his head. "Just something Madame Morell said, that's all."

"Why?" She stared at him in confusion as their pace slowed for a brief moment. "What'd she say?"

Qrow was silent for a long moment. "Ruby, I'm not sure you want to know what she said. Honestly, I'm still struggling to decide whether or not I agree with it or not."

"How come?" Her concern was evident, and he could tell she was not trying to pry, rather she was trying to help. "Did she suggest using the military as a way of getting what we want or something like that?"

"No," He said shortly. "She wasn't trying to run the group like the Atlas Council…she was angry because I called her out on her true viewpoint on the war with Salem and stated that, while everyone has a price, her price is higher than pretty much everyone else's."

"That might not have been the right thing to say," Ruby said slowly. "But did you mean it?"

"Yeah, I did," He said, sending a cursory glance towards the boxy buildings which made up the Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council nearby. "And I wouldn't take back what I said, but it's what she said after that makes me feel awful. Especially because she went on to say that I can't call her out without accepting my own 'price'."

"But you just want to do what's right," Ruby said, and Qrow couldn't help but admire her simple thinking, the lack of doubt that she had in his intentions. "Isn't that more important than some higher loyalty to Ozpin?"

"That wasn't even what she was really saying," Qrow said sadly. "What she was really saying is that my semblance, my history, everything…it's why I support Oz like I do and she swore that everything she was saying was perfectly valid, that I'm a curse."

"But you're not," Ruby said resolutely. "You're not a curse, dad."

"I'm glad that you think that, Rubes," Qrow said, biting at his lip. "But not everyone feels that way. Frankly, a lot of people disagree with you and think I am a curse. If Morell does, if my own sister, if most of the people who have ever known me believe or at least think that…what does it say about me? Doesn't that mean they're right?"

"No," Ruby said, her voice shaking. "You're not a curse –"

"Ruby, I kept myself at a safe distance from you as a child because I loved you too much to risk hurting you and after what happened to your mother…" Qrow shook his head. "I couldn't quite forgive myself for what happened to her, and as much as I've tried to move forward…every single time I have been shown the dark side of me by my semblance. That's why I…that's why I didn't want you to have the burden of my name. I love you, Ruby, and you're my daughter, my baby girl…but that doesn't change the fact that I have such a strong potential to hurt people. If I ever hurt you, or Winter…if I ever hurt anyone who was innocent…"

"Dad," Ruby said, embracing him tightly. "It's going to be okay, I know it will be. We will defeat her."

Qrow hesitated but then sighed. "I hope you're right."

"Things will get better," She said. "They have to."

Qrow glanced back at the complex comprising the Atlas Council but then shook his head once more. "Ruby, if it's alright, I just want some time alone. Honestly, with everything feeling in question…sometimes I can't help but wish I could just die…"

Without another word, he shifted into his corvid form and flew away, his daughter watching with her silver eyes wide and him not seeing as a tear slipped out and trailed down her cheek before she slowly began to walk back towards Atlas Academy.

* * *

"I really do think that this is all rather shocking," Admiral Winchester commented, looking down upon everyone else in the room. "What are the odds, General Ciel, that your husband turns up after all this time as well as his sister. And Ozpin...that's quite a surprise as well although much more expected."

The General narrowed her eyes. "Winchester, what are you getting at?"

"Are you sure they were telling the truth about what happened to them?" He questioned. "What if there's an alternative explanation?"

Ciel raised an eyebrow. "Might I ask, then Winchester," She began dangerously. "If you are suggesting they have arisen from the dead as if this is the judgement day and the -"

"Could be more plausible than this!" He exclaimed, then shaking his head. "With all due respect, General Ciel -"

"With all due respect, _Admiral_ Winchester," She countered. "That may perhaps be the most absurd thing I have ever heard."

"She's right," Karissa Mar said, giving him a sharp look in spite of knowing full well that such was the correct conclusion. "Winchester, do not waste time on such -"

"But Emmett and Cristal Schnee _did_ die years ago!" Anemone Jansen shook her head. "This doesn't make sense! I know their bodies were never recovered, but -"

"Miss Jansen," Kiara Davis said calmly. "Do think about this rationally. The bodies were never recovered. As dangerous as the situation was, they were fully trained huntsmen, they had strong auras, and I imagine they were disoriented and simply ended up in the wrong place. It's a shame, but the good thing is that they are alright now. Let's be happy about that and not dwell on this much more."

Jansen glared at her but then sighed heavily. "I suppose that you're right."

"The circumstances are still suspicious," Winchester said. "Should we have the DNLNE or the security council order a –"

"We are not going to bring them before the Council to testify," Elizabeth Morell said with finality. "They have been through enough, they've testified before the entire security council and they don't need to do so in front of the DOJ and a –"

"Madame Morell –" Winchester started.

"I am on the security council, Winchester," She snapped. "I know what I'm talking about. Just because you are not privy to this information does not degrade its validity."

Blake Adel nodded. "Thank you, Madame Morell, for making that clear."

"My pleasure," She said shortly. "Now, Miss Jansen, I do believe that you are here to give your piece to the Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action in regards to the P.E.N.N.Y Project which has been the subject of international scandal since the Fall Of Beacon Academy."

Jansen bit her lip. "And why, might I ask, am I being brought before the DFAMA in regards to this topic in spite of the fact that I have already turned over most of my materials to the DOJ, and the DNLNE –"

"Because, as you just stated, it is _most_ of your materials that you turned over to the Department Of Justice and the Department Of Local And National Law Enforcement," Elizabeth said, giving her a pointed look. "Which did _not_ include your personal communications with people lower than you in the project. You are the head of the project, and you are the one that must answer for it. You did not create her per se, but you hold the responsibility as the project's leader, most strong advocate, and as –"

"Madame Morell, if you really want information why don't you go to Dr. Corson who was the lead scientist?" Jansen shook her head, fear rising in her. "This is not the end of the world – I'm sure that people understand that we never meant for the girl to die, let alone –"

"You put the aura of an innocent person who had not had the choice into the android," Ciel reminded her, trying to remain calm in spite of the anger she felt. "You took a baby and removed their aura. The child might be fine, but they're never going to have an aura even if they had wanted to unlock it. The ethics of what you did are in black and white – it was wrong, and yet you still did so because –"

"The ends, at the time, justified the means," Anemone snapped. "How could we have known that that Valerian girl's semblance would destroy her –"

"You shouldn't have brought her to Vale in the first place," Morell snapped back, matching the woman's tone perfectly. "I'm shocked that the Council approved it, but it got by on just a few votes –"

"Exactly," Anemone said, standing up and smirking. "All of us are responsible, not just me. Don't make this about me. Make it about yourselves."

"That's enough," Winchester said sharply. "For as much as I thought there was scientific credence to this project, it has turned out to be nothing more or less than a failure that has and will continue to have its repercussions on the kingdom of Atlas for a long time."

Jansen hung her head in shame. "Yes, I was the director of the project and, no, I have not turned over my personal communications to the Council quite yet."

"Might I ask why?" Karissa Mar raised an eyebrow when the woman did not respond. "Is there something you have to hide?"

"Forgive me, Madame Mar, for attempting to hold onto my pride," Jansen said softly. "I have said and done things that I am not proud of relating to this project, and, believe me, I am not desiring the Council to scrutinize it."

"I'm afraid, under the law and with the subpoena for you to turn over all information relating to the project, that you don't get a choice in the matter," Elizabeth sighed heavily. "This is not to upset or call you out, but it is to find out exactly what happened in this project to prevent this from happening again. There is a lesson to be learned here, but I am not quite sure any of us have quite grasped it."

* * *

Ruby sighed heavily as she stepped back into her team's dorm. "Guys, I think something's bothering my dad."

"Okay," Yang said, staring almost dejectedly at the ceiling and bouncing a small rubber ball against it from her high bunk. "What do you think is on uncle Qrow's mind?"

"I'm not quite sure," Ruby admitted, rubbing her arm. "He mentioned Madame Morell and a few things she said, but it seems like there's so much more than that."

"I'm sure it's nothing," Weiss said, embracing her teammate. "But if it is, he probably doesn't want to worry you."

"I tried to press him on it," Ruby said quietly. "And all I got out of it was him shaking his head, sighing, pulling out his flask and saying that maybe it'd be better for him to spend some time alone because he feels like he wants to die."

Blake looked at her in shock. "What?"

"That's why I'm worried," Ruby shook her head. "He seems to be…I don't know…pretty bad off and it seems like it's all tied to the fight with Salem. It's really taking its toll, and it seems to be just…from over the years."

"I'm sure he's just overly stressed," Yang said tonelessly. "You know, because of everything to do with the Relics, and Ozpin, and him bringing back people – literally – from the dead but not your mother…"

Ruby's eyes went wide. "Yang!"

"Not that he would want that now," Yang said, shifting slightly to look at her cousin. "Since he's with Winter now. Bringing back your mother would just make things worse for everyone."

Ruby swallowed hard as she tried to force herself not to cry. "Yang…"

"Maybe Elizabeth Morell is right," She said as she sat up, crossing her arms. "Caitlin says that her mother thinks that there's a chance all of this is a wild goose chase. Maybe she's right."

"How can you think that?" Ruby stared at her, silver eyes wide. "Yang, we can and will defeat Salem, I know it!"

"Oz is clearly keeping things from us!" Yang snapped. "What if it's that he doesn't really know what to do? What if Morell is right that it's just a wild goose chase?"

"Then we'll deal with it then," Blake said as calmly as she could, climbing up onto her teammate's bed and placing a hand on her shoulder. "But even if it seems that way, there's got to be another reason behind why we're doing all this, why so many people have died for this –"

"If Morell's right, then they died in vain!" Yang shook her head, tears biting at the corners of her eyes. "If Morell's right…then I guess my mom was right too…"

"Raven would love that, wouldn't she?" Weiss said bitterly. "She'd just love knowing that she was right, that she was right in saying there is no beating Salem."

"It's not just her, though," Yang said, sighing. "Elizabeth Morell's got even more information than my mom, she's in a position of political power and influence, and she knows these kinds of issues inside and out. What if she's right…what if they're both right?"

"Yang," Ruby said gently. "Let's just go on what we have. Thinking about it's only going to make things worse, it's only going to make you doubt it more –"

"Or am I just asking questions now?" Yang countered. "Like mom said to?"

"Yang, your mother is an angry, vindictive woman who at the core of her being is terrified shitless by all of this," Blake said, wrapping an arm around her and giving her a gentle squeeze. "Alright? Don't listen to her."

"How can I not?" Yang demanded. "How can I not let her words hang around in my head when the only conversations I've ever had with my mother, however shitty, involved her at least expressing some genuine concern for me when she'd never given a damn before? I told you all what happened in the Vault, and I'm not going to get into that again, but she was scared for me. I know she's angry and vindictive, and I am still angry with her for leaving but she still gives a damn about me in her own way, even if it's not the way I wish she did!"

A weighty silence overtook the room for a single minute that they could have mistaken for an hour – especially since in that moment everything in the room seemed to darken.

"I don't know what to tell you…" Ruby said sadly, looking at her feet. "But I really think we're making progress."

"And, Yang?" Blake said, looking at her partner in concern. "I know this isn't the only thing that's hard for you, but I understand. And if you ever feel like you need someone…I can be there to protect you and help you heal."

Yang suddenly wrenched out of her embrace and started to storm out of the room, her eyes red and tears filling in them. "I don't need to be protected, I'm not a child! And, honestly, I don't think I can ever heal…"

The door slammed quickly behind her, and Ruby, Weiss, and Blake exchanged long looks before dejectedly beginning to study for their classes the next day while Yang took a train into the city to talk to a certain, small girl with a high voice, and a mother who might know more than any of them.

* * *

Cristal sighed as she sipped her tea. "Liz, I am so sorry that –"

"I'm not in the mood," She said, pacing while Michael watched her anxiously. "And, to be frank, I still am not quite sure that this isn't a wild goose chase."

"Elizabeth, I have tried my best to explain to you why it's not," Ozpin said, giving Cristal a gentle squeeze. "What more can I do?"

"Prove it," She said bluntly. "You think after lying to everyone – never mind that I hadn't officially been a part of the group until recently – that we'll just accept that your plan to defeat Salem is to find all the maidens, get them on our side, and then seal her with a silver eyed warrior risking their life for it? That's all but a one off chance, and I don't find myself convinced you can actually do it."

Ozpin hesitated as he responded. "Elizabeth, please."

"You can plead all you like," She said, crossing her arms. "But that doesn't make me believe you. Do you know how many people at work constantly plead with me to understand what they're saying even if their argument is fallacious?"

"I imagine that happens a lot," Ozpin said, then going silent for a moment before going on. "And I can understand, considering the things you've had to deal with, that you're suspicious of the majority of people."

Michael Morell stood up as his wife's eyes flared in anger and she began to shake. "Lizzie, sweetheart, I –"

"How can you," Elizabeth started, glaring at Ozpin. "Say that and yet be so ignorant as to think that I'll believe you in this?"

"Liz is right," Cristal said, looking to Ozpin who sighed. "Oz, she has every reason to be cautious and even I don't entirely believe we can defeat her."

"If you own wife is saying that," Elizabeth added. "Then I think you know –"

"If we don't defeat her," Ozpin said slowly. "We at least have to keep her at bay. But I want more than anything to defeat her. I don't want to lose Chrissy all over again. All I want is, truly, for everything to be over with so I can be a man again and Chrissy and I can be happy. That the world can finally achieve some semblance of peace."

"Your intentions are honourable," Elizabeth said, crossing her arms. "But just because you have good intentions doesn't mean that you're perfect, that you'll be able to achieve that goal."

"I know," Ozpin said, staring at his hands for a moment before looking back to her. "But I really do think that we have a chance…even if I myself do not."

Elizabeth pursed her lips but then sighed. "Do you believe him, Michael?"

He was silent for a moment, softly kissed her forehead, but then nodded. "Yes, Lizzie, I do."

Elizabeth scowled at Ozpin but then softened her features. "I'll give you a chance to prove that this isn't hopeless, but if you keep any more secrets, tell any more lies…then I will be out of all of this."

"I understand," Ozpin said, and she nodded once. "Elizabeth, I truly want things to work out."

"I can see that," She said, glancing to Cristal. "The two of you love each other and don't want a loss like you had had again. But if you don't defeat her, you will. Seems like you've both found your conviction. It's like Emmeline said several years ago, that there are holes created in loss that simply cannot be filled by hatred."

Ozpin nodded and then turned to Cristal. "Chrissy, I love you so much."

"I know," She murmured, embracing him tightly. "But this has to work out."

He sighed heavily and rubbed her back. "I know…"

"Oz," Michael said as he and his wife sat back down. "Is sealing Salem really the last thing that needs to be done? Will it do away with the grimm?"

Ozpin shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid not. The grimm were never tied to her before the gods left the world, and they're an incarnation of the darkness. There's nothing we can do about them except continue to train huntsmen and huntresses to fight back."

"Right now, though," Cristal said, adjusting her glasses and then running her fingers through her voluminous white curls. "We need to find a ray of hope somewhere. But where that might be, I don't think any of us know."

* * *

Upstairs from where her parents, Cristal, and Ozpin were speaking, Caitlin Morell was fidgeting with her music while also talking to Yang. Sighing heavily, she shook her head as she ran a hand through her dark curls, blew on her bangs, and adjusted her glasses. After a long moment, she finally spoke.

"Yang, I don't know what to say," The green eyed girl said, her high and fast voice a bit fast than usual. "But I get it. I'd rather defend myself than have others trying protect me. You know I've survived staring death in the face just like you although I know you have it worse."

"I love Blake…" She said weakly, burying her face in her hands. "She's a great person, and even though she left I can tell she didn't mean to hurt me and that she's trying to make things right but...but I've just never gotten over what happened...and I don't even think I ever will."

"Look," Caitlin said, crossing her arms as she sat down on her bed. "It's either going to slowly ease up or it's not, but it's only been a few months. Honestly, all y'all should really just stop being at each other's throats."

"Easier said than done…" Yang muttered, then looking up with her violet eyes wide and filled with tears. "Thanks for telling me everything you know, though, and everything your mom's said on the subject."

Caitlin shrugged. "No problem, Yang."

Yang bit her lip but then sighed. "Tell me something that'll make me laugh. Haven't had anything to laugh about in awhile, so…"

Caitlin smirked. "Did you know high heels were originally worn by men?"

Yang giggled a bit. "Really?"

"Yeah," Caitlin said, leaning over to punch her natural arm. "And the reason women wear them now is because it accentuates the breasts and the ass."

Yang laughed even more. "Caitlin Marianne Morell!"

Caitlin smiled a bit as she crossed her arms. "What? I ain't joking."

Yang giggled incredibly hard for a long moment. "You're amazing, Morell, really."

Caitlin couldn't help but giggle a bit herself. "Aww...Yang, thanks"

Yang smirked just a little. "Any time."

* * *

"Qrow, I swear to god," Winter said, giving her partner a sharp look. "If you're still angry with Morell, then we need to talk about it."

Qrow sighed. "I am not angry with Morell."

"Then what the hell is the problem?" She shook her head as she went on. "Qrow, if you're not angry with Madame Morell then what is bothering you?"

He was silent for a moment. "I'm not angry at Liz, I'm upset by something...more so what she said because I'm starting to think she might be right."

"Is this about what she said about there being no hope and you having no decency?" Winter bit her lip when he nodded. "Qrow, you know Morell is wrong. For however angry she is, there is some hope and you do have decency."

"No, she's right," Qrow said, sighing heavily a second time. "Yeah, I'm pissed Morell didn't keep her views to herself but Liz is Liz and she was right. It's possible there's no hope, and if that's the case...I don't know, I've felt so dejected recently and a part of me just wants to die."

"No," Winter said, standing up and embracing him tightly. "Qrow -"

"I love you and my daughter too much to give up," Qrow said, holding her close. "But I've felt...like shit. Like utter shit and I hate this."

Winter let him hold her closer. "Qrow, what do you need me to do?"

He was silent for a long moment but then squeezed her. "Win, I want you to stay with me."

"You know I will," She murmured. "I love you."

"I love you too," He whispered, tears starting to fall down his cheeks. "I...Win how long have we been together?"

She looked up at him, her pale blue eyes wide. "About seven months, why?"

Qrow bit his lip as she brushed tears away from his eyes. "Win," He said gently. "I've been thinking about this for the last few weeks, and I know it might seem soon but I can't keep this to my chest anymore."

Her concerned look turned to more so one of confusion. "What is it?"

Swallowing back his fear, he pulled out first his flask which he set aside and then a glisenting, moonstone ring. In spite of the lump in his throat, and the pit in his stomach, he fell to one knee and, as properly as he could, spoke:

"Winter Arabella Schnee," He said, his voice soft and full of nothing but love. "I know that I ain't perfect, and that things have not been necessarily what someone would call easy for us in the last few months. Still, i can't help how strong my feelings for you and my desire to protect you has gotten...and I love you so much. You're strong, beautiful, talented, and you've somehow loved someone as broken as me. I love you, Winter, and want no one but you - as ridiculous as that might sound. Will you marry me?"

She stared at him for a long moment, blinked, and then bit her lip. "Qrow…"

"I know that this is a bit earlier than maybe you thought it would be," He said, his voice starting to shake in spite of himself. "But I know you'll want to have a traditional wedding, one that takes six or some odd months of planning. We can keep finding each other even more in that time, but I want to marry you, if you're willing."

WInter was silent but then nodded, pushing aside her own fears. "Yes, Qrow, I'll marry you."

He slipped the ring quickly onto her finger, and then embraced her tightly, pressing a passionate kiss to her lips. "I love you so damn much…"

"I love you too…" She whispered. "I love you too…"

"Now…" He said, cupping her cheek. "When should we tell the group and your family?"

She considered that for a moment but then smiled. "What's wrong with tomorrow?"

He smiled and gently kissed her once more. "Nothing at all."


	31. Chapter 31

_**July 24th  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
7:59 PM**_

Elizabeth Morell almost dropped her wine glass in surprise. "You...you two are engaged?"

"That was fast," Cristal remarked dryly and with a small smirk.

Qrow scowled. "Oh, and you and Oz -"

"Qrow," Ozpin said as he gave his wife a gentle squeeze. "Not now."

"I'm honestly not surprised," Emmett said, and Emmeline laughed a bit. "What? Emmy, I'm completely serious."

"Your lack of surprise is at least better than what I first thought of," Michael commented, taking his wife's hand. "Really."

"Oh, I have a feeling what that might be," Allison said, turning quickly to face her husband when he lightly squeezed her shoulder. "What? That was ambiguous. It's not as if I said it."

"I think I know what you're thinking," He whispered, and she giggled. "Is it that you think Winter's carrying his child?"

"What are you two talking about?" Qrow looked at both of them in confusion. "Seriously, I'm lost now."

"You don't want to know," Glynda said, crossing her arms and then glaring at all of them. "And stop making me jealous of the fact that all of you can have wine."

"You're the one who's having a baby in December," Cristal reminded her, albeit with a caring smile. "By the way, do you know if you're having a boy or a girl yet?"

Glynda sighed. "We're going to wait until the baby's born to know its gender."

Cristal smiled. "Cute. Do you two at least have any ideas on what you're going to name it?"

"Why are you suddenly so interested in their baby?" Emmett asked her, a bit confused. "You've barely spoken about it other than saying you're happy for them."

"It is a bit weird," Allison commented. "And you haven't eaten or tried to drink anything at all in the last hour since we've all been here. I'd ask if _you_ are pregnant, but the chances -"

"I love you, Al, I really do," Cristal said, smiling as she curled a bit into Ozpin. "And you've always been good at drawing conclusions."

Blake's green eyes went wide for a moment before he found himself able to speak. "Wait...you're saying you are pregnant?"

Cristal nodded. "I found out two days ago, but yes."

"Well why didn't you tell us yesterday?" Elizabeth asked her, her voice teasingly scolding. "You and Oz were here yesterday too, talking with me and MIchael. You couldn't have slipped that in somewhere?"

"Lizzie," Cristal said, putting her hands up in mock surrender. "I'm working on getting my company back from Jacques, I got married just under two months ago, and I've been back for...well who knows how long, or at least that's how it feels. Sorry that I've got a lot on my mind."

Winter smiled at her aunt. "I'm happy for you two, I really am."

"I think we all are," Qrow said, smiling as he kissed her cheek. "And, before anyone asks, Winter isn't pregnant."

"I told you so," Michael said, rolling his eyes as Blake and Allison started laughing. "Actually, nix that. Lizzie and I _both_ told you so."

Qrow glared. "You all were taking bets?"

"Blame me!" Allison said, smirking at both Cristal and Glynda as she sipped her wine. "I was the one who started it...what was it, two months ago?"

"Actually it was more like three," Elizabeth said, laughing when Qrow sent her sharp look. "Sorry, but you can't blame us for drinking a little and making comments like that. It just so happened to turn into a bet."

"Which you and I won," Michael added, kissing her cheek before turning to Blake. "The check."

Blake scowled as he scrawled it out. "Why did we bet them six grand that Winter and Qrow would get engaged after finding out she was pregnant?" He muttered to his wife.

"Because," She said, laughing a little still. "We never thought it would happen. Besides, I make enough money as CEO of -"

"I know, it's basically nothing," He said, still grudgingly handing the check to Elizabeth. "I made that check out to your wife, Michael," He gave the man a pointed look, causing him to laugh. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," He said, affectionately squeezing his wife's hand. "I think that's your excuse to -"

"I am so traveling to Vale next month," She said happily. "I have a one month vacation, and I'm going to Vale."

"Without me?" He asked her.

"No, of course not," She said, smiling as she playfully swatted his arm. "You, and the kids, are coming with me. This just makes it easier."

Cristal sighed. "You two are lucky."

Elizabeth looked at her in concern. "Are you alright, Chrissy?"

"I...I'm not sure," She said, her grey eyes falling to her perfectly polished and filed nails. "I think I'm just stressed, that's all."

"If you're worried about your baby, you're going to be fine," Elizabeth told her, her brown eyes wide in sympathy. "You have Ozpin, after all."

"The same goes for you and James," Emmeline said, giving Glynda a caring yet pointed look. "I mean that."

"I know," Glynda said, delicately adjusting her glasses. "But it's difficult not to, especially with our circumstances."

"You're both going to be fine," Allison said, resting her head on her husband's good shoulder while he wrapped his arm around her waist. "Nothing is going to happen to either of you, and your babies are going to be fine. As for Winter and Qrow…"

"I'm sure their marriage is going to work out," Blake said, then laughing as he went on. "It's not as if it's -"

"Don't you dare make a horrible political pun," Qrow said, rolling his eyes as Blake continued to laugh. "Or at least don't make it out loud."

"Don't worry," Blake said with a smirk. "I don't need to say it out loud, I can laugh at my own thoughts."

"Look," Emmett said, turning to his sister. "Chrissy, you're going to be fine. Don't tell me that you're not, because it's just your anxiety getting to you. Ozpin's with you, he's not going to let anything happen to you and the baby - which is _both_ of yours. As for the company, since I know for a fact that you're concerned about it, Kiara has our backs, and I have a feeling we're going to take the company back from Jacques."

Cristal was silent for a long moment but then sighed heavily as her husband gave her a caring, affectionate squeeze. "I hope you're all...I hope none of you are wrong about this."

"Just because everything seems like it's going to hell in the rest of the world doesn't mean it's going to for all of us," Winter said, attempting to be reasonable. "We're all going to be fine, so long as we don't do anything stupid or rash that'll just cause trouble."

Emmett snorted. "Because we're all known for not being like that."

Elizabeth nodded. "I'll say. How many times - in the last few months alone - have we gotten ourselves into difficult situations that we don't know how to handle? Having two of the Relics in the same location, and in extremely close proximity, no less!"

"It's not as if we have much of a choice," Ozpin reminded her. "We can't lock the Relic Of Knowledge back in Haven Academy's vault without Raven, and she'd never agree -"

"That might be an understatement," Qrow said bitterly, taking a small sip from his flask before kissing Winter's cheek. "She'd want it for herself, never mind that it wouldn't be useful to her since all of the questions for this century were asked."

Ozpin shifted awkwardly for a moment as he held his wife close to him, trying to soothe her visible tension. "Actually…" He said quietly. "If Raven knew how to access it, it would be incredibly useful to her."

Michael Morell placed a hand gently over his wife's as her fingers began to twitch in both nervousness, suspicion, and a bit of anger. "Lizzie, I'm sure that he had -"

"Are you saying," Elizabeth started, her voice shaking. "That you lied - again - about something but this time the potential of the Relics? If the Relic Of Knowledge fell into Salem's hands, then she could, since I have no doubt _she_ knows how to access it just as well as you do, easily -"

"Oh my god!" Allison looked at Ozpin in horror. "Is that why we have to keep it here? Because it's safer in Atlas than in Mistral, especially since it can't be sealed?"

He was silent for a long moment, but then nodded. "Yes, Allison, that is what I'm saying."

Blake lovingly caressed Allison's arm, then kissing her cheek. "It's going to be okay, Allie."

Glynda crossed her arms as she stared at Ozpin. "Anything else we should know?"

"Probably not anything you don't already know," Cristal said, her voice little more than a whisper. "If it's relating to Salem."

Ozpin pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "I love you, and not Salem."

"I know…" She said, brushing tears away from her eyes though she was unable to stop her glasses from fogging. "I know, and I...I'm so sorry, I…"

"Chrissy, I promise things are going to be okay," Ozpin said, gently cupping her still flat abdomen. "And I will protect you and our baby."

"I know you will…" She murmured. "I…"

"I can't deny, if I'm being honest, that I am worried about where things are going with the war against Salem," James shook his head as he squeezed his wife's hand. "I know you have a plan, Ozpin, but it's still so dangerous."

"What exactly is your plan?" Qrow asked him, an eyebrow raised. "You said you were gonna tell me, but you haven't gotten around to it."

Ozpin didn't respond, but Emmett did.

"You don't want to know," He said, his voice gravely serious. "Really, Qrow, you don't want to know right now."

He glared. "Schnee, I don't think you have any standing to tell me -"

"So?" Emmett countered. "I have information you don't -"

"Quit rubbing it in -" Qrow began angrily.

"Qrow," Winter said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder as he stood up. "It's not worth it."

He stared at her for a moment, but then shook his head. "Fine," He said as he looked back to Oz. "But we'll talk about this later."

Ozpin nodded. "Of course."

"What the hell are we doing?" Elizabeth asked tiredly, probing her forehead. "I can't even tell, half the time anymore."

Michael nodded. "Lizzie's right."

Emmeline looked to Cristal in concern even as she curled into Emmett. "Chrissy, are you sure that you're alright?"

Cristal swallowed hard before shaking her head and curling tightly into Ozpin as she started to cry. "I think the stress of my life is finally starting to get to me…"

"Oh, Chrissy…" Ozpin said, his voice soft and full of love and concern as he pulled as close to her as he could - even with everyone staring at them. "I wish there was something I could do."

She nodded weakly, tears steadily falling onto his shoulder. "I know, Oz, I know…"


	32. Chapter 32

_**August 3rd  
**_ _ **Schnee Family Manor  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **7:37 PM**_

Winter bit her lip as she and Qrow walked towards her father's study. Her hand tightly in his, she tried to not think about what she imagined her father would have to say about their engagement. That was not even including how he would react if he knew, for how little he cared about anyone in the family, that they had told Cristal and Emmett – not to mention the others – before him. She was well aware of her father's controlling nature, and she was well aware of his short temper. Still, she held herself as she always did; confidence, a bit of arrogance, and derisiveness were exuded but both she and Qrow knew it was a façade. Pausing just outside of the man's study, where they could hear him speaking angrily with someone over the line, Qrow pressed of a gentle kiss to her lips, then cupping her cheek.

"It's going to be okay, Win," He said, holding her close. "I promise. He's not going to do anything to us, he's not that stupid."

"You don't know him like I do," She said, sighing. "He's more manipulative, more –"

"Win, I know," He said gently. "But he's not going to get to us. And besides, I'm sure if you needed to you could lean on Cristal, or Emmett, or James for support against him."

Winter shook her head. "That wouldn't be fair to them."

Qrow sighed. "And this isn't fair to you."

Winter was silent for a moment, waited for quiet to come from within her father's study, and then knocked almost soundlessly on the door.

"Come in," Jacques said, his irritation clear in his voice.

Winter swallowed hard but then stepped into the room with Qrow behind her. "Hello, father," She said tonelessly.

"Winter," He said curtly, his eyes narrowing upon seeing Qrow. "Might I ask what Qrow Branwen of all people is doing here?"

Winter steadied her hands, then speaking with perfectly calm eloquence. "As he and I are engaged to be married, I thought that you had the right to be _aware_ of the union."

Jacques' eyes flared. "I beg your pardon?"

"I am marrying Qrow," She said with a surprising firmness to her voice in spite of the anxiety she felt, even as she glanced to her fiancé. "And I thought, since you are my father, that you should know."

"You are not marrying him," Jacques snapped, sending Qrow a sharp glare. "Unless, of course, you have disgraced this family even more than you did by running off to join the military and are pregnant."

Winter scowled. " _I_ am not pregnant, however Cristal is –"

"Of course she is!" Jacques exclaimed, then sighing irritably. "She and that Valerian man. Never mind that he's no longer the headmaster of Beacon Academy, he's still an odd one, and she should have married someone more acceptable for her status. At least Emmett married a woman of influence –"

"Emmett would have married Ciel even if she hadn't had influence in the kingdom," Qrow said, gently wrapping an arm around Winter. "Especially considering how ecstatic he was when he had found out she was pregnant with Casseia a few months after they married."

Jacques glowered. "I didn't ask for your input, and the fact that both Emmett and Cristal are still alive is a shock I was _not_ hoping for nor expecting to have to deal with."

"Deal with?" Winter stared at him incredulously. "You wish they were actually dead?"

"Of course not!" Jacques snapped. "I'm not heartless. No, I wish that they had no standing to take the SDC back because of that damned provisional clause in Nicholas' will regarding it."

"It is their legal right," She reminded him. "And –"

"Winter?" Willow stared at her daughter as she stepped into the room, her gaze then falling on Qrow. "What are you two doing here?"

Qrow smiled. "Winter and I are engaged."

Willow's eyes widened in surprise, but then she smiled. "That's wonderful, Winter. I'm very happy for you."

"Thank you, mother," She said, a faint but genuine smile rising on her lips though it quickly faded upon her father's next words.

"I have no idea what has gotten into you," He said, his voice nothing short of venomous. "But this behaviour of yours is reflecting horribly on the family and –"

"My choices are mine to make, now aren't they?" Winter countered. "Well?"

Jacques' look quickly turned to one of outrage. "How dare you?"

"No," Qrow said in spite of the sharp look Winter was giving him. "How dare _you_ abuse your wife, your children –"

"Qrow, you're just playing into his hand –" Winter started, her voice a bit quicker than usual.

"Even so, someone needs to finally put him in his place," Qrow said, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek before turning back to the man. "I've seen her scars. You're a horrible person, Jacques, and you have never had any right to do the things you've done to them. You've hurt your wife, physically scarred your daughters, emotionally and mentally scarred your wife, daughters, and son –"

"You can shut your mouth," Jacques replied angrily. "You have no idea the things I've had to do in order to keep this family in such high standing since Nicholas' death –"

"I don't like Emmett and Cristal," Qrow snapped. "But they're a damn sight better than you. If they hadn't had to fight to take the company that's rightfully theirs back from you, then people wouldn't think poorly of the Schnees because of you.

"All you give a damn about is turning a profit. You don't care about people. You care about your wealth, your influence, and pulling strings wherever you can. There's a reason people like Ironwood, Ciel, Davis, Mar, and Morell don't take you seriously, and it's because you're nothing more or less than a dick.

"You're not a good person, and yet you act like you are. You're even more of a hypocrite than the rest of us, and you deserve to lose all of this. You didn't even do anything for it. You took it from people who were lost and taken advantage of.

"Again, I don't like them but Emmett and Cristal have worked incredibly hard to get back to their lives and regain control and I truly believe that it's people like them who deserve what you think you're entitled to."

A heavy silence followed Qrow's words, but then Winter spoke.

"You had your choice," She said. "Like all of us have. You chose to be like this, and it is exactly why you're facing the loss of the SDC from your hands. And it is also why Weiss and I left, why Whitley is so conflicted, and –"

"I can speak for myself," Willow said, her voice soft as she turned to Jacques. "And you never loved me, did you? Just power, wealth, and fame?"

Jacques was silent, but then scowled at Winter as he walked towards her. "This behaviour of yours, like that of your sister, is most disappointing."

"I don't care," She said, swallowing hard as she went on. "I'm going to live my life as I see fit. I simply thought it would be a common –"

Jacques slapped her, hard enough to activate her aura. "That's enough, Winter!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Qrow demanded, pulling her close to him despite the glare she was giving him. "What –"

"I can answer that," Cristal said silkily, adjusting her glasses as she stepped into the room with a large file clutched to her chest. "Jacques, care to explain these?"

Jacques briskly walked towards her, then snatching the file away and glancing through it. "What the hell is this?"

Cristal rolled her eyes. "A small bit of the many, many series of information that will lock you away for a damn good long time and will, of course, give me and my brother control of the SDC once more."

Jacques slammed the file back into her hands, startling her. "You dare?"

"I dare," She replied with a smirk. "In case you're forgetting, the majority of the Council is on my side."

Jacques shook his head. "You're a storm of ruthlessness."

Cristal laughed. "Perhaps so," She said. "But at least I don't damn myself with paper trail."

"You'll pay for this," Jacques hissed, his voice low and deadly.

Cristal scowled. "No, you will. And you'll pay knowing I was right."

"You're a horrible, manipulative person," Jacques spat. "You have no idea what you're doing."

Cristal sighed. "Projecting much? Sounds like you're describing yourself, not me."

Willow stared at her sister. "Cristal –"

"We'll talk later," She said, haughtily strutting out of the room with the file still in hand and a faint smirk gracing her face.


	33. Chapter 33

_**August 7th  
Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council  
Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action  
City Of Atlas  
United Kingdom Of Atlas  
Security Level: High  
Necessary Security Clearance: High  
9:31 PM**_

Emmeline sighed as she stood in the doorway of Elizabeth's office. "Didn't think you'd be working this late."

"I'm just wrapping a few things up," She replied tersely. "Michael already left. Kiara and Karissa as well."

Emmeline shook her head. "You're working too hard these days, Liz."

"I'm not," She said, looking up for a moment and then returning to her filing. "And, to be honest, I think things are more stressful for you than they are for me. With Emmett and Cristal trying to take back the SDC for Jacques, I mean."

"They have a good case, even Kiara said that," Emmeline said, stepping into the room and walking over to Elizabeth's desk. "And I tend to agree."

"I know, and I agree," Elizabeth hesitated but then shook her head. "Look, Emmeline, if you want me to –"

"I'm not going to ask you to do anything," Emmeline told her gently. "I just wish you weren't so –"

"With everything going on in the last few months I don't really…" Elizabeth paused and bit her lip. "With everything that we've had to deal with, I just want it to be over."

"So do I," Emmeline said, glancing at one of the files. "My father is having you look over –"

"It's just information for the security council," Elizabeth said, picking it up and shoving it away. "I've already written out what I have to say on the subject."

"They're not still having you deal with Anemone Jansen, are they?" Emmeline nodded when Elizabeth shook her head. "At least you're not having to worry about as many issues at once."

"I don't really feel like there's much of a difference," Elizabeth ran her fingers through her hair and then sighed. "I thought, at first, that I might but I feel just as tired and stressed as I did."

"I wish there was something I could do to help," Emmeline looked at her sympathetically. "Liz, if you –"

"You have enough things to worry about," Elizabeth told her, putting up a hand to silence her. "With Emmett, and Cas, and all. I'm sure Emmett's still adjusting to…everything. I know Chrissy is, and I can't imagine the hormones from her pregnancy are helping that much."

"They're not," Emmeline admitted. "Chrissy and Oz are living with us, and, as happy as she is that she and Oz are having a family, her anxiety about the baby, and getting the SDC back, and the war against Salem…it's all gotten to her and made everything harder for her."

"I wish she didn't feel like that," Elizabeth said, glancing briefly at her scroll as it started to go off. "I'll get that later."

Emmeline was silent for a long moment but then nodded. "I think all of us wish Chrissy was less…I suppose anxious, but it seems like it's more than that."

"With everything that's been going on, not to mention the shock of being dead for eighteen years…" Elizabeth shook her head and laughed dryly. "You would think it'd be very hard for her to deal with. And she and Willow still aren't on the best terms."

"That's hard on her too," Emmeline agreed, then sighing. "I think Ozpin's been helping her, though."

"Of course he has been," Elizabeth said with a faint smile. "He and I don't always see eye to eye, especially when it comes to transparency, but he's a good person at heart, and he genuinely loves her. Their child too, I imagine."

Emmeline nodded. "The two of them spend a great deal of time together when they can, so yes. I just wish she was…"

"Happier, calmer, etc, all of the above?" Elizabeth questioned, and Emmeline laughed. "What? That was serious."

"I know it was," She said. "And, yes, all of those."

Elizabeth tapped her nails against her desk for a few seconds, but then forced herself to speak. "Has Oz told Chrissy what her…well, I know she's not really a part of the family anymore but –"

"No, he hasn't told her what Cinder did to you," Emmeline said, placing a hand on her shoulder but pausing when Elizabeth flinched. "Lizzie, if you could barely tell what happened to your husband – let alone Kiara and the DOJ – you don't have to tell her. At least not personally, if you feel you have to do it at all."

"I don't know if I'll ever get fully past it," She said quietly. "There were nights I couldn't even explain to Michael why there were bruises or cuts or scars on my skin. I couldn't explain why I flinched at even the most gentle touches…and this started when my daughter was four years old and my son was a baby. It didn't stop until I told the Council about what 'Ashlynn Schnee' who had become 'Cinder Fall' was doing to me three years ago…and with all of the new…I know Raven s _aid_ she killed Cinder but what if she only thought she had, and the bitch survived? What if she's still out there?"

"We'll deal with it," Emmeline promised her. "But it's likely that I would know pretty early on if she's still around. After all, before the events at Haven Academy, she was threatening me and Cas left and right."

"It'll probably be worse when and if she finds out that Emmett and Cristal are…" Elizabeth swallowed hard as she went on. "Alive, although 'resuscitated' is the loosest explanation that's truly valid."

"Elizabeth Lillian Morell, listen to me," Emmeline said, looking at one of her closest friends seriously. "I know you're stressed, I know you're scared, and I know you have a lot on your mind but I can also tell that you're just not feeling quite right. I want you to relax. I know it's not necessarily easy, but you'll feel so much better if you just relax. You know that trip you were planning to take with Michael, Jack, and Caitlin? Take it sooner, if you can. You need to refocus, you need to relax, and I promise that everything will fall into place after that. It's going to be alright. You just have to trust me. You do, don't you?"

Elizabeth sighed heavily, but then embraced her tightly, faint tears in the corners of her eyes. "Of course I trust you. Honestly, of the few people in the world I trust, you, our closest friends, and my family are at the top of the list. Sometimes I just forget that things aren't entirely hopeless."

* * *

Winter sighed as she continued to pace. "Qrow, it doesn't matter what my father thinks."

"I know that," He said gently. "But –"

"Honestly," Weiss said, crossing her arms as she leaned back into the couch where she sat next to Qrow. "I don't usually agree with him, but Qrow's right. Do you really think father will let you marry him if he doesn't like him?"

"Weiss," Winter said sharply, still not looking at her sister. "It doesn't matter. If you think he's got the energy to go out of his way to make our lives all the more miserable –"

"You deny it," Weiss said, scowling at her sister. "But you do care what he thinks even though you joined the military and grew more of a spine than the rest of us had. But I think right now I might –"

"Weiss, I am telling both you and Qrow that it doesn't matter what he thinks," Winter snapped. "And I would appreciate it if you would let this rest."

Weiss pursed her lips for a moment but then shook her head. "Winter, I know that you're –"

"I don't care!" She exclaimed in exasperation as she turned towards her, leaning on the counter. "I'm not lying. I really just don't give even have a damn what he thinks!"

Qrow and Weiss were silent for a long moment, but then he stood up and embraced her tightly.

"I only care that he doesn't try and make our lives harder," He said, kissing her softly. "I don't care if he doesn't approve of me marrying you. I want you to be happy, and I want things to be easier for you. I know things aren't easy because –"

"Qrow," Winter said tiredly. "I'm just not in the mood. I don't want to talk about this right now, okay?"

He nodded and held her close. "I promise it's going to be alright."

"You two are still getting married, right?" Weiss asked them, and her sister nodded. "Good."

"But there is something else that you and I should talk about," Qrow said, giving Winter a pointed look. "Since we're engaged now."

She raised an eyebrow but then turned to her sister. "Weiss –"

"Heading out," The former heiress said, picking up her sword and then stepping out of the apartment with the door closing behind her with a satisfying slam.

Qrow was silent for a long moment as he and Winter walked into their room and they sat down on the edge of the bed. Trailing a hand through her long white locks, he sighed and then held her for a time before he finally forced himself to speak.

"Win," He said, his knuckles grazing over her cheek. "How do you feel about the idea of having a family?"

Winter stared at him, her icy blue eyes wide. "What?"

"Do you want to have kids?" He asked her, and she bit her lip. "Because, honestly, as worried as I would be a keeping them safe with my semblance and the war with Salem…I do."

She raised an eyebrow. "You really want to have kids?"

"Not if you don't want to," He said quickly. "But if you were willing to…"

She sighed. "I don't know with where I am in my career…"

"You'd be fine, I know you would," He said, kissing her forehead. "Cristal, I'm sure will be, and she's a hot mess. You're not."

"Fine," Winter said. "I don't know if I feel like I'd be a good mother or if I even like babies."

Qrow's face fell. "So you…"

"I never said I don't want to have a family," She said with a heavy sigh. "But I just…I don't know if I'm ready."

"I'm not saying right now," He said, doing his best to reassure her. "I meant in a year or two."

She bit her lip. "Give me a few months to think about it. I just…I don't know. And, with everything that's going on…I just don't know what to do. There's too much on my mind."

"I get that," He said, holding her close and stroking her hair once more. "I'm worried too."

"You're more sure than I am," She pointed out, then shaking her head. "Maybe it has to do with the way I was raised."

"You're nothing like your father," He said with complete confidence. "And I could never imagine you as being like your mother."

"I know," She said quietly. "But there are times where I'm not so sure of that."

"I always will be sure of that," He swore. "If you ever need to be reassured, Win, I'll be here for you. I love you, and I want you to be happy."

"I love you too," She said, her voice softer still. "That doesn't mean I still don't doubt myself."

"I think…" Qrow sighed heavily as he went on. "I think we all suffer from that."

* * *

"Chrissy?" Emmeline said as she stepped into the townhouse. "Are you –"

"In here," The unusually quiet voice of the fallen heiress said from in the living room. "And, before you ask, what do you think?"

"Probably not," Emmeline said, looking at her sympathetically when she stepped into the room and saw her laying on the couch, her legs up in the air and staring at the ceiling with her glasses slightly askew on her face. "What are you doing?"

"Attempting to relax," She said, her voice slightly bitter. "Apparently it's not working very well."

"It hasn't been working well since you started as soon as you got home," Emmett remarked, sipping an unholy cup of coffee. "Chrissy, you're a highly intelligent woman, I think you should know that whatever you're doing isn't helping."

Cristal let her legs fall back onto the couch, sighing as she did so. "Well I don't know how to make myself relax. I can't take the anti anxiety pills I was prescribed shortly after being brought back because it could hurt my baby, so I'm worried about everything – including it – and I can't stop!"

"Cristal Annabelle Schnee," Emmeline said, coming over to where she was laying and grasping onto her hands to pull her up. "Everything's fine. You don't have anything to worry about."

"I have everything to worry about!" She exclaimed, her eyes starting to tear. "I'm terrified about how I'm going to be as a mother, I'm nervous about whatever Jacques might try and pull regarding the company –"

"Jacques' isn't going to be able to keep the SDC," Emmett said, rolling his eyes and adjusting his own glasses. "Come on. You and I have a good case, and we're the ones who should be running it."

"So?" Cristal said, burying her face in her hands. "What if –"

"If you finish that sentence in a way that's going to make you more worried, I'm going to find a way to force you to relax," Emmeline said, looking at her in complete seriousness. "You and Elizabeth really need to start a support group, honestly, for successful, brilliant women with severe anxiety and trust issues."

Cristal sighed. "You think I'm overreacting?"

"Yes," Emmett said shamelessly. "I love you, Chrissy, since you're my sister but you're making things hard for yourself when they don't need to be. Besides, if you're worried about Jacques, you all but shoved just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to evidence against him in his face and he still hasn't backed down. He had his amazing rise, and now he's going to have his scandalous fall."

"I'd usually say something to contradict that," Cristal said weakly, running her fingers through her long white curls. "But it's true."

"See?" Emmett said, fluffing out his shoulder length waves and sipping his coffee. "You're fine."

"I suppose…" She said, biting her lip.

Emmeline embraced her tightly. "It's going to be alright."

"I know…" She said softly.

"Chrissy?" Ozpin smiled as he stepped into the room and saw his wife. "I got some interesting news this morning."

She raised an eyebrow as she stood up. "What's that?"

"Well," He said, pulling her in close. "How would you feel about going to Vale for a weekend? Just the two of us?"

She stared at him for a moment but then softly kissed him. "Really?"

"Really," He said, gently caressing her cheek. "I was thinking that it would be good for us to spend some more time completely alone together before the baby comes."

Cristal smiled. "I love you so damn much…"

"I love you too…" He murmured, kissing her cheek. "How do you feel about the possibility of leaving tomorrow evening?"

"I can do that," She said, leaning further into his embrace and resting her head on his shoulder. "Just you and me?"

"Just you and me," He affirmed, kissing her forehead. "I promise, Chrissy, that it'll just be about the two of us and our family."

She smiled. "I'm glad."

"If anything, it means that Emmett and I can have that small cocktail party with the Morells and Adels," Emmeline laughed a bit as she went on. "Not that you two would have anything to worry about."

Cristal shrugged. "You act as if it's weird for you to have them around."

"It's not," Emmett half whispered to Emmeline, who playfully smacked his arm. "What was that for?"

"For drinking coffee at almost eleven at night," She said, her tone teasingly scolding. "Honestly, what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that I had a headache and since caffeine helps lessen them…" Emmett grinned as he kissed her cheek. "What? I'm not making that up."

"I know you're not," She said, rolling her eyes. "In many ways, I would argue that that makes it worse."

"No, what would be worse would if I do what Qrow does and mixed whisky with black coffee," Emmett mock shuddered in disgust. "But I wouldn't. That's just gross."

"As a lot of things Qrow does are," Cristal remarked dryly. "But I have to give him credit for proposing to Winter and then rubbing it in Jacques' face."

"I'm still not sure if I understand why he thought that would be a good idea," Emmett said, and Emmeline sighed. "Emmy, you know that he –"

"Yes, I know that he's been trying, ever since, to find something on Qrow that he can use to get him into legal trouble," Emmeline shook her head. "The man's a dick."

"Eloquent, Emmeline," Ozpin said, then sighing himself. "But not untrue."

"No kidding," Cristal muttered. "The man's a snake and must have been thrilled when he got that company out from under me."

"You act like I _don't_ have an important role in the SDC," Emmett said, laughing. "I was the COO."

"And I was the CEO and chairman of the board, what's your point?" Cristal countered. "It's just…"

"It sucks, I agree," Emmett said, giving Emmeline a gentle squeeze. "But things are getting better."

"Or so we hope," Cristal said darkly. "After all, who knows where everything's really going to end up. Not all of the chips have fallen yet, and I'm not so sure that we're going to be happy when they do."

"We'll be okay," Ozpin assured her. "I promise, Chrissy."

She was silent for a moment, but then nodded. "I hope you're right."

"For everyone's sake," Emmeline said slowly. "We all do."


	34. Chapter 34

_**August 8th  
Schnee Dust Company  
World Headquarters  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
6:34 PM**_

Jacques continued to throw cursory glances towards the city only just seeing the first shadows of the evening on its glistening streets. Better than anyone, he knew that the conditions in most of the city were not nearly as favourable as they were in the district in which the company that had been under his conviction for the last eighteen years. In the far distance, throw the seemingly endless rows of other high rise buildings, skyscrapers, apartment complexes, and rowhouses lay the Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council. It was only the tallest of the boxy set that made up the primary complex of the national government's buildings which could be seen from his office. Ironically, or perhaps unironically one considered the connexions and support that Cristal and Emmett had within the Council holistically, the building he could see was the primary offices of the Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action, the Department Of Local And National Law Enforcement, the Department Of Criminal, Civil, And Corporate Investigation, the Department Of Justice, the Department Of Criminal, Civil, And Corporate Prosecution, and, naturally, the Atlesian National Security Council. It was the members of the Atlesian Security Council, all of whom had a high position in other parts of the Council, that he had the most problems with.

"Sir?" One of the young secretaries said, nervously entering the room with one foot out the door.

"What is it?" Jacques asked, his tone cordial though he did not turn from where he was staring out the window with his hands clasped behind his back.

"The security council and the DFAMA approved Madame Davis' request to have access to all of the internal company files from the last eighteen years," The secretary said, unsure what else to say. "And the DCCCP has also had state prosecutors file charges against you for information they had already obtained from leaked files."

Jacques was silent, but then sighed. "When were those files leaked?"

"Two years ago," The secretary replied. "Unfortunately, for as much as we were hoping for a valid case against her, Madame Cristal Schnee -"

"Yes, I am aware that she did nothing except for remove the portrait I had in here and scratch up my desk," Jacques said curtly. "And she's not responsible, but she's certainly using this to her advantage."

"Frankly," The secretary said, knowing he was treading a dangerous line. "I think she's dazed, a bit confused, and desperate to return to the life she knew no matter the cost."

"She's always been a ruthless business woman," Jacques shook his head, knowing he was speaking more of himself rather than Cristal. "But she was always intelligent. The woman could have anything she wants."

"She's made it immensely clear," The secretary replied. "She is, however, gone for the weekend."

Jacques turned around, his interest piqued. "Might I ask why?"

"She and her husband went down to Vale," The secretary sighed. "I imagine it has something to do with the fact that she's pregnant and he wishes to spend more time with her, but perhaps it has something to do with that meeting you have with Madame Morell."

"I demanded to have that meeting with Madame Morell because I need her to stop the rest of the security council from damning me," Jacques snapped, then calming himself. "Cristal and Emmett don't know what they're doing, but their father did. If he had been in a right state, I imagine he would have left me the company in the first place, and, furthermore -"

"If you think running a temper like that will gain you any favours from me, then you're vastly mistaken," The cool voice of Elizabeth Morell said as she stepped into the room, her heels clicking. "I had to leave work early to deal with this, so what you have to say better be worth my while."

Jacques raised an eyebrow. "Is that any way to speak to someone like me, Madame Morell?"

"You know full well my personal views of you and your work, let alone your treatment of your wife and children," She said, her eyes narrowing and appearing to almost glow against her rather pale skin and freckles in the late afternoon light. "Do not test me and bring those views in against my better judgement. I want to deal with what you have to say, not with you."

Jacques shooed the secretary out of the room, waiting for the door to close before speaking. "Madame Morell, I have a favour to ask of you and I do not wish to antagonise you."

"I find that hard to believe," She muttered, tugging on the sleeves of her blazer. "But go on."

"I understand that you are a prominent member of the security council," He said, beginning to pace once she nodded shortly. "I would like to ask that you convince the rest of them to not levy charges against me."

Elizabeth discreetly pressed the audio recording button on her scroll to capture his words. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said," Jacques said, pausing for a moment to look at her as if she were stupid. "That I would like to ask that you convince the rest of the security council not to levy charges against me."

"Absolutely not," Elizabeth said, not bothering to hide her irritation. "Beyond that being unethical, that's -"

"It would preserve my rightful claim to the SDC, for one," Jacques said silkily. "For another, it would prevent some things coming to light that are not exactly positive for the family. I'm sure you of all people would understand."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "What exactly do you mean by that? How the hell am I supposed to understand?"

"You had to, in court, discuss rather personal details of how you cheated on your husband with a crazy woman - one of my sister in laws, actually - and I can't imagine that having been easy for you," Jacques looked at her with false sympathy. "Do you think I want to discuss things like my wife's alcoholism in court because some people believe I abuse her when I do not?"

Elizabeth scowled. "I did not cheat on my husband, I was tortured, beaten, and even raped on a few occasions for seven years. As for Willow, do not even play. You may not abuse her physically, but you sure as hell don't try to comfort her and the nature of your marriage to her did drive her to alcoholism."

"We all have transgressions," Jacques said, pausing for a moment. "But mine are not that severe. I care about my family, in contrast to how you work and work. Perhaps that's why your marriage to Michael Adel barely works. Blake Adel's brother must love you a great deal to want you to work less."

"Michael's concern about me is not about me working less for his sake, but for mine," Elizabeth replied tersely. "And there is nothing wrong with our marriage, it's perfectly happy and we're very much in love and have two wonderful children."

Jacques scoffed. "Whatever. Will you help me or not?"

"No," Elizabeth said firmly. "Absolutely not. If you think the security council won't hear about this -"

"You wouldn't do that," Jacques said as he sat down behind his desk. "After all, that wouldn't do anyone any good. Don't you think you'd be creating more work, for say, Winter?"

"Oh, like you care about your daughter," Elizabeth said, rolling her eyes. "Didn't you say the other day -"

"I want to stop her from marrying Qrow Branwen because he's not of her status," Jacques said, his eyes icy. "And because the man -"

"You have no idea what you've done," Elizabeth snapped, slapping her hand down on his desk and startling him as she started leave the room. "And you'll never know what kind of person you are. Maybe you were halfway decent once, but in the last twenty five years? Please. I'm not stupid, I know when someone's a snake and that's exactly what you are."

Jacques rolled his eyes as she slammed the door behind her, not knowing that she had a record of the entire conversation. "And what would you know, considering you're so close with the Ciels, Cristal, and the Adels?"

Even if he had asked her, he would have gotten no response.

* * *

Glynda stared at Elizabeth as she finished replaying the recording she'd gotten while in Jacques' office. "I can't believe your nerve, honestly."

"It was Karissa's idea," Elizabeth said, then sighing. "And, while there's nothing illegal about recording a conversation with a powerful businessman nor is it illegal if you report things that are in fact against the law - in this case, attempted bribery of a public official for political game or manipulation of the legal system - there is...I don't know. I get that this isn't perjury, but I can't help but feel like I set him up. I only started recording it because he was freaking me the fuck out, and now that I have this evidence I'm required to report it to not only the DCCCP, the DOJ, the DCCCI, the DFAMA, the DNLNE, and the security council but…"

"Elizabeth," Glynda said as she pushed up her glasses. "You've done nothing wrong, don't convince yourself that you have."

"I was a journalist before I was a politician," She reminded her. "I have more credit hours towards political science and law than my husband who has a degree in political science and another in business management. Not to mention the fact that I was pre law before I changed my major. Do you at least understand why I feel awful about this? It feels like malpractice even though it's not."

"Lizzie," Michael said, sighing as he squeezed her hand. "None of us think you've done anything wrong."

"He's right," Glynda said, glancing to James who nodded. "I know why you feel that way, but just because you feel that way -"

"Glynda, I'm not in the mood for a lecture about my emotions, thank you very much," Elizabeth said tiredly, probing her forehead. "What if Emmeline -"

"Emmeline's not going to think that you've committed a crime because you haven't," James told her, looking at her in complete seriousness. "Elizabeth, no one thinks less of you for this and no one will. To be honest, I think most people will start to think higher of you because of the fact that you were resourceful enough to start recording him once he started to make you uncomfortable."

"I…" Elizabeth bit her lip, then hanging her head in shame. "Some of the things he said were awfully personal, not to mention untrue. I'm not so sure I want to discuss those with my colleagues. I've already been through whole damn thing a few years ago with my trial for -"

"Lizzie, very few people thought you were truly guilty of conspiracy against the government for which you work," Michael said, kissing her forehead. "I certainly didn't. And no one, especially after the evidence of coercion on the part of -"

"I know," She snapped, then regretting it when she saw the hurt look on his face. "Michael, I'm sorry, I just don't want to think much about this. I feel horrible about what I did today, I still feel pain when I have to -"

"Then don't," He said, giving her a gentle squeeze. "You'll always have me, our family, and our close friends. Nothing's going to change just because you had a bad day and a bad conversation with possibly the greatest asshole in our kingdom today."

Glynda laughed. "Are you sure you're not understating, Michael?"

"Blake's had harsher words for him," He replied. "Chrissy even more so than him, if you can believe that."

"Oh, we can," James said, rolling his eyes. "Chrissy's always been a bit...special."

"Don't be like that," Elizabeth said, her voice scolding but teasingly so. "Chrissy's just more ready to say exactly what she thinks that the rest of us are."

"No kidding," Glynda remarked with a smirk. "Don't you remember her telling you about that time at Atlas Academy when she told off a professor because they criticised her for being an heiress?"

"Of course I remember that," Elizabeth said. "She complained to me about it for hours."

"The most memorable thing that happened while we were at Atlas Academy was Blake and Allison getting married at graduation," James said, and Glynda smiled. "I think that was also the day you dyed Chrissy's hair hot pink."

"She was angry about it, that's what I remember," Elizabeth said, and Michael shrugged.

"When is Chrissy not pissed off about something or at someone?" He smirked when none of them could come up with a decent answer. "Personally, I think that since her anxiety causes her so much personal loathing, that she gets antsy when she doesn't know who or what to hate."

"That's not entirely fair," Elizabeth said. "Chrissy has a good reason for everything she does."

"Except for hating herself," Glynda said dryly. "I've never understood her self loathing. In case no one had noticed, Ozpin's never understood it either."

"He worries about her more than anything else," James said, gently running his fingers through her platinum blonde waves. "I'm pretty sure most of the men you know feel that way about their wives. Myself included."

"Amen to that," Michael said, giving Elizabeth a squeeze. "And since the two of you found out about your daughter and son, you've gotten that way too. Welcome to my life, and Blake Adel's, and Emmett Schnee's. I know Emmett's only been back for a few months or something like that, but still."

"Don't make me laugh," Elizabeth said, a jokingly dark tone in her voice. "Or I think I'll take sex off the table as an option for helping me relax tonight."

"God, you two are weird," Glynda said, rolling her eyes. "I love you both, but you're so weird."

"I think we're weird," Michael mock whispered to Elizabeth, who stifled back a giggle. "Ah, so someone does want me to -"

"Don't even say it," She said, struggling to keep a straight face. "Michael, please don't even say it."

"Fine, I won't," He said, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "You know, it's good to see you smile even just for a little."

"I agree with him," Glynda said, giving Elizabeth a pointed look. "Sometimes you're too serious for your own damn good."

Elizabeth sighed. "I suppose that's true."

"It's very true," Michael said. "But we all love and care about you either way."

She bit her lip, but then nodded. "I just hope there isn't a storm coming our way."

"Knowing how things work for us," Glynda said, a tinge of regret in her voice. "There probably is."

* * *

Winter scowled at her scroll as it continued to go off. "I'm not going to answer it," She said softly to herself. "I'm not going to give him what he wants."

"Hey," Qrow said, grinning as he walked out of the bathroom in a pair of looser, red silk pants and no shirt. His hair was a bit wet from his shower, and his perpetual stubble was as endearing as ever. "I was thinking…" He said, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "With everyone being gone…"

"Qrow…" Winter said, laughing a bit in spite of herself and praying he wouldn't notice her scroll lighting up and going off on the dresser. "I don't think now is a great time for sex."

"I wasn't even suggesting that," He said, spinning her just enough in his arms to take her hands in his. "I was more of suggesting this."

Winter couldn't help but relax as he kissed her. "I love you."

"I know you do, Win," He said, treading his fingers gently through her long white locks. "And I know things have been difficult for you since -"

"What did I say yesterday?" She asked him, giving him a pointed look. "Qrow, I don't want to talk about my father, I don't want to think about my father -"

"Win," Qrow said gently. "Maybe we should talk to someone about this."

She groaned. "I am not going to start seeing a therapist with you just because -"

"I meant, the Adels have to deal with something similar to this, and Watts is only a bit worse than your father," Qrow cupped her cheek and brushed away the tear that was forming in spite of her attempts to appear strong. "You think Blake Adel hasn't had conversations like this with her? I'm not saying they are my favourite people, but I like them well enough and I think they -"

Winter sighed heavily and gestured towards her laptop. "You want to try and video call them? Go ahead. See if they're willing to talk at nine in the evening about her issues with her father. I'm sure that will be pleasant."

Qrow was silent for a long moment but then opened her laptop and sent out the video call to the Adels regardless. "I'm sure it will be fine," He told her, despite not being quite sure.

"Qrow?" Blake crossed his arms and stared at him oddly for a moment. "What is it? And why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

"I just got out of the shower, Blake," He told him. "Give me a break, okay?"

Blake rolled his eyes. "You don't deserve a break. Sorry, but you just don't. You're kind of -"

"I know what you're about to say," Qrow said, putting up his hands. "I'm a bit of an ass. But it's fine. I actually was hoping your wife would be around too."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Why do you need to talk to Allie?"

"...What does he want?" Allie called from the other room. "...Blakey? You talking to Qrow?"

"Yeah," Blake called into his wife's small dressing room. "He says he was hoping you'd be around to talk to as well as me."

"Well, what could he need to talk to both of us about?" She asked as she step into the room. "Does it have something to do with my work as a fashion designer?"

"God, Allison," Qrow said, shaking his head. "I don't need designer clothes."

"Everyone does," She replied, giggling as Blake tickled her hand. "Blakey!"

"Sorry," He said as he wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her gently. "I love you too much."

"Thank god you're at least using your right and not your left," She said, resting her head on his good shoulder as she pulled her legs up onto their bed. "You know you -"

"I know," He said gently. "I know it scares you when I overextend myself, but I'm trying to alleviate as much of the stress in your life as possible and I'm trying to be a better husband -"

"Speaking of being a better husband," Qrow said, giving them both a pointed look. "I need a few pointers."

Allison scowled. "Run a comb through that mess."

"Don't be a bitch," He replied.

"Is that any way to talk to the person you want help from?" She countered. "Who's the bitch now?"

"Look," Qrow said, attempting to be as sensitive to the difficulty of the situation to the Adels as possible. "Allison, how do you and Blake deal with your father being the kind of person he is."

Allison took in a sharp breath in spite of herself. "Qrow -" She started a bit dangerously.

"I told you this wasn't going to do any good," Winter said, sighing heavily. "Qrow, you're just going to upset them."

"Winter," Allison said, sighing as the younger woman came into the frame. "If this is because of your relationship with your father, the best thing you can do is try to be better than me and let go. By let go, I mean stop giving a damn about him, not denying that he exists or that he's had an influence in your life and has brought you fear...but let go by accepting that the past is the past and it will never change. Just...try and move on and live your life. I can't imagine Jacques threatening you the way my father threatens me and my family. He doesn't have the balls."

"Well," Blake said with a faint smirk. "Chrissy did all but kick him so hard in the balls that his testicales reascended."

Allison burst into laughter in spite of herself. "Blake!"

"Oh lord…" Winter said, probing her forehead. "Qrow, if this -"

"No, don't worry," Allison said, calming herself as best she could. " You two aren't going to end up like me and Blake. I promise. You won't be as weird as the two of us."

Qrow shrugged. "I can't wait to see the look on Raven's face when she finds out I'm engaged to Winter."

Winter stared at him in horror. "Are we really going to tell your sister?"

"We told Jacques," He reminded her gently. "I think that was a harder 'family members we don't like' to tell. I don't like Raven, and I'll be damned before I say I think she's right but she should know. And who knows? Maybe her time with Tai on Patch or wherever the hell they are has changed her."

Allison snorted. "As if Raven would change."

"I don't know," Blake said, sighing. "She could have."

"She's like Alexis Carrington in _Dynasty_ ," Allison remarked dryly. "Manipulative, cunning, patronising -"

"I get the point," Winter said, then looking to Qrow. "How are we going to tell your sister of all people?"

"Well…" He said, glancing at his scroll. "I could always call her tomorrow and see if she and Tai can visit through one of her portals. Then we can tell her, and she can get as pissed as she wants and she and Tai can wander through downtown."

Allison giggled. "I can see that happening."

"We all can," Blake said, kissing her cheek. "Good luck you two."

Qrow flinched unwillingly. "Yeah, because I've got a whole lot of that. Got it..."


	35. Chapter 35

_**August 9th  
City Of Vale  
Vale  
Downtown  
7:37 PM**_

Cristal leaned her head onto her husband's shoulder as they curled up in the bed of the small apartment that he still had in the City Of Vale. The sun was slowly beginning its descent in the east, and the sky was streaked with a bloody red, a vibrant orange, a fading blue, a dash of pink, and the faintest sprinkle of purple in between. Despite the security and stability which had been achieved fully within the capital city of the kingdom of Vale, the work to Beacon Academy was still being done. Earlier in the day, the couple had visited the grounds but the jarring sight of the aesthetic repairs - not to mention the slight feeling of sickness that she had felt when she had seen the vault and Amber's corpse coupled with her inherited psychicity reacting to the events of the night - had been more than enough for her. So led to the two of them wandering through the city, hand in hand, and relaxing as best they could before returning back to the apartment and having tea and crumpets - then curling up together in bed.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Ozpin finally said, his voice soft as he gently trailed his fingers through his wife's long and thick white curls. "I should have known that the vault would have in particular -"

"It's not your fault," She said quietly. "And I was curious. Really, it's more of my fault for wanting to know so damn much about what had happened, although I imagine it looked much worse several months ago."

"It did," He admitted. "The structural repairs were overseen by Glynda, and it was more taxing on her than was fair. I'm glad James is trying to get her to relax, especially since their twins will be born soon enough."

"I'm still relieved that everyone else…" Cristal bit her lip as she went on. "That everyone else was still alive and that you were still here, that you still love me."

"Chrissy," Ozpin said, a soft hand cupping her cheek. "Of course I still love you. I married you, albeit after waiting eighteen years because you were gone, and now we're having a child."

She smiled softly. "Well, I was still and am still relieved."

"I love you more than anything," He promised, softly kissing her lips. "Although, of course, I know I'll love our child."

"Me too…" She murmured. "And I think I'll have my company back too. The case will actually begin court hearings in early September...so hopefully things will be cleared up quickly and Jacques will be forced to forfeit the company to me."

"Elizabeth seems rather confident in that," Ozpin noted, and Cristal nodded. "I take it she told you about the damning things he said to her?"

"Yes," Cristal said, then sighing. "But she still feels like she's done something wrong. She didn't set him up, though. She just, to put in it in her words, started recording him when he started to make her uncomfortable. The funny thing is that Jacques has an uncanny ability to at times make people both comfortable and uncomfortable. For all his faults, he's an excellent businessman albeit an unethical one."

"Quite the opposite of you and your brother," Ozpin said, wrapping an arm loosely around her. "Or your father."

"It's a disgrace what he's done to the family and its legacy," Cristal said, bitterness clear in her voice. "I can still scarcely believe that people connotate my family with stepping over people and not giving a damn for anyone but themselves."

"I know," Ozpin said, kissing her cheek. "But I'm sure everything will turn out alright."

"It better," She said, then shaking her head. "This isn't who I am, frankly this isn't who Emmett is, and it's not fair for Jacques to be able to define all of us in his image."

"Speaking of his image," Ozpin said, attempting to lighten the tone even a small bit. "Didn't you take down a portrait he had hanging up in the CEO's office of himself?"

Cristal giggled a bit at the memory. "It was a pain to do, but I managed to do it with enough tugging. And kicking the wall a few times. I can't help that I'm only 4'9'''"

"I still think you're gorgeous no matter what, Chrissy," Ozpin replied, pressing another kiss to her lips. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Oz…" She murmured, pushing up her glasses but then curling tighter into his embrace. "And, I have to admit, I really did enjoy myself and seeing that shocked and yet vaguely frightened look on his face when he saw me. My heels scratching up his desk was just another thing that I got an odd sense of satisfaction from."

"I don't think I'll ever quite understand how you do it," Ozpin smiled as he gave her a gentle squeeze. "But, Chrissy, you never cease to amaze and endear me."

She sighed again. "Don't flatter me, Oz…"

"I'm not," He said, looking at her in complete seriousness. "Chrissy, I would never tell you anything that I don't truly mean."

She nodded. "I know that," She said softly. "I'm just not alway so sure of myself."

"Chrissy," Ozpin said, holding her close. "I promise that everything is going to be alright. You, me, the baby...everyone and everything is going to be alright."

"I just…" She bit her lip. "I act far more confident than I feel for the rest of the world but I can't help but feel...almost weak. I suppose that's why I try to hide my emotions more often than not."

"You don't have to," Ozpin said, pressing a gentle hand to her small curve. "Not for me, not for our child, and not for the people closest to us. We all love you, even your flaws. And, Chrissy? It's not a sin to have emotions. You know that, don't you?"

She hesitated. "Sometimes," She finally said. "I'm not sure if I do."

* * *

Winter scowled as Raven stepped through her portal. "You don't have to try to intimidate us."

"Whoever said anything about intimidating the two of you?" She replied, her crossing her arms with her red eyes flaring even as Tai followed through and smiled upon seeing her. "Oh! You mean the fact that I -"

"I don't want to start a fight," Qrow said, and she scowled. "And you don't have to try and provoke one."

"I'm not trying to provoke you," She told him. "If this has anything to do with Ozpin and whatever the hell he did, then you're trying to provoke me. I've been telling you for years that Ozpin isn't the -"

"He's not perfect," Qrow snapped. "But he's a damn sight better than you."

"That's not fair," Tai said, and Raven rolled her eyes. "Rae, come on. I know -"

"You don't have to defend me," She said, glaring at her brother. "So, Qrow, what do you want?"

He sighed. "Promise you won't get angry?"

Raven raised an eyebrow. "That depends…"

"I'm marrying Winter," He said, taking his fiance's hand and giving it a squeeze. "And, no, we're not having a child. I just love her, and I'm going to marry her."

Raven looked at him in confusion. "And why are you telling me this?"

Qrow sighed again. "Because, at the end of the day, you're my sister and you have a right to know."

"That's ironic," Raven commented dryly. "Considering that you said several months back that I'm not family anymore."

Qrow bit his lip. "Raven -"

"It's surprising how family only comes around when they need something," She said, shaking her head. "You're no exception."

"Raven -" Qrow started, biting back the slight anger he felt at her remark.

She shifted quickly into her corvid form and flew out the open window into the City Of Atlas.

"I know she probably doesn't feel the same way," Tai said after a moment had passed. "But I'm happy for you two."

Qrow smiled weakly. "Thanks, Tai."

"No problem," He said, his eye then being caught by an all too familiar seal on one of the letters on the counter. "What's that?"

"Nothing," Qrow said quickly, reaching for the letters. "Absolutely nothing."

Winter raised an eyebrow. "Qrow, what -"

He paused for a moment, but then shook his head and passed the top one which Tai had seen to her. "I thought you wouldn't want to see it."

She took in a sharp breath. "Why would he send something so formally?"

"I don't know," Qrow said, biting his lip. "But you don't have to open it if you don't want to."

Winter hesitated, but then tore open the letter. "I'm not going to hide from him."

Qrow watched her in concern as she looked over the words. "Win?"

She crumpled the paper up in her hand with far more force than either him or Tai had expected, then tossing it in the trash. "As if I'd listen to that."

"What'd he say?" Tai asked her, then flinching just a bit upon the harsh glare she gave him. "Sorry."

"It's not you," She said almost tonelessly. "It's just my father thinking that he has any right to meddle in my life."

"It has to do with me, doesn't it?" Qrow stared at her, and then hesitantly pulled her in tightly. "Win, I'm so sorry -"

"None of this has to do with you," She told him. "It's -"

"That he doesn't want me to marry you and is stopping so low as to threaten you over it," Qrow said knowingly, then shaking his head even as he drew her closer still. "Win, if he hurts you because of me -"

"He's not going to do anything, not for real." Winter started as calmly as she could muster. "This is just -"

"Bad luck," Qrow finished, and she groaned. "Win, what if this my semblance playing some sort of cruel trick on us -"

"Oh for god's sake," Tai said, bursting both of their bubbles. "Winter, I'm sure everything will turn out fine no matter what the hell your father tries or thinks. And, as for you

Qrow, stop raving about your semblance. It didn't kill Summer, it hasn't done a damn thing, it's not going to hurt Winter, and _you are not cursed_!"

Qrow stared at him for a moment before pressing a soft kiss to Winter's forehead. "I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"And nothing will," She said, sounding perhaps more reassuring than she herself felt. "Truly, Qrow, it's all going to fine. The wedding's not until December anyways -"

"See?" Tai said, pacing about the room awkwardly. "You two are going to be fine."

Qrow scowled at him. "Do you have to interject on everything?"

Winter rolled her eyes. "Says the man who called Blake and Allison Adel just the other night for engagement slash marital advice."

Qrow sighed. "Sorry."

WInter smiled a little. "There's something endearing in your...somewhat provocative tendencies."

"Hopefully not too provocative," He said, his red eyes staring at her in both love and concern.

She laughed. "Only in a good way."

He considered that for a moment, but then nodded. "I think I can live with that."

"Good," She replied, just before pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "Because, for all your faults, I do love you."

"I love you too," He said, squeezing her for a brief moment. "Ice Queen."

"That never gets old to you, does it?" She asked him, shaking her head. "Of course not."

"Didn't you just call me endearing?" He countered. "Me and all my tics?"

She shrugged, but then nodded. "You have a way of reading me."

"I would say it's one of my many blessings," He replied with an air of confidence more than that which he felt. "One of my many gifts amongst my many, many more curses."

She sighed heavily. "I wish you didn't feel that way."

"Honestly," He said, a rueful tinge of sadness in his voice. "I wish that too."

* * *

"...You would think that," Elizabeth Morell commented, completely unaware that her daughter and her closest friends were listening from within the other room. "...And you would be wrong."

"...Oh, come on Lizzie," Michael said, laughing a bit. "...I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"...I was there," Blake commented. "...It was that bad."

"...I think you exaggerate," Allison remarked dryly, and Blake could be heard to be setting down his drink - presumably to embrace his wife. "...Blakey!"

"...And I think," He said slowly. "...That you underestimate, or maybe overestimate, the functionality of the council."

"...Especially in the DFAMA," Emmeline said, then sighing. "...It goes without saying that I can scarcely understand how anything gets done in the department."

"...Is it too presumptuous to go with simple luck?" Glynda asked her. "...Or am I right about that?"

"...Believe me," Elizabeth said darkly. "...You're right about that."

Caitlin Morell pulled away from the door and turned to Heather Adel, Casseia Ciel-Schnee, Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, and Ruby Rose.

"I think," She said slowly. "That they're complaining about work again but that mommy's still not going to say enough for me to piece together things I'm actually curious about."

Cas shrugged. "I have the exact same problem, you're not alone."

"I do too," Heather said, sticking out her tongue for a second and causing Team RWBY giggle softly in spite of themselves. "Except with my dad."

"Same difference," Ruby said through giggles. "You all have a parent with a high security clearance -"

"The highest, actually," Weiss corrected her. "Considering that Emmeline's a General, Blake's the head of the investigative committee, and that Elizabeth is both a high ranking member of the DFAMA and the security council."

Blake shrugged. "You know more about Atlas than any of us."

"I dispute that," Caitlin said, giving them all a sharp look. "Am I seconded?"

"Yes," Cas, Heather, Yang, and even Weiss said.

"The motion carries!" Caitlin exclaimed, then falling backwards onto the cushions which they had laid out. "Yay!"

"Your pride seems to mean a lot to you," Blake noted.

Caitlin shrugged. "Eh, I would say it runs in my family."

"No kidding," Cas said, playfully punching her shoulder. "But you're still adorable nonetheless."

Caitlin smiled. "Aww…"

"What else are they saying," Yang asked, leaning closer to the door. "If they know anything more than Oz has been telling us -"

"The short answer is that Oz tells us less than everyone else because he doesn't think we can handle it," Heather said, then groaning. "It's so stupid. That and the fact he's kept things from my parents just to keep them less worried about Watts."

"I'm shocked he told Cristal about his past with Salem," Cas admitted. "I mean, he knows that she -"

"Shh...shh...shh!" Yang exclaimed, waving her hands at them to shush them. "Listen."

"...Look," Elizabeth said, sighing heavily. "...At the end of the day, Jacques is going down and Emmett and Cristal will get the SDC back. We have other things we should be worried about, and, frankly, that's because they're less certain and more...pressing."

"What is she talking about…" Blake mused softly.

"...Lizzie," Michael said, his voice gentle. "...I'm sure Cinder isn't still around. Raven said she killed her at Haven. For all her faults, I can't imagine her having lied about that. If that's what you're worried about, I promise it's going to be fine and that she's not going to get to you again."

Elizabeth was silent for a long moment, but then finally replied. "...I suppose that's true."

"...It's okay," Allison told her, then pausing for a few seconds. "...I'm still worried about my father trying to get back into the kingdom. Especially...especially after what he did to Blake."

"...That was a few years ago," He said, then letting out a slightly pained noise against his will. "...Allie, sweetheart, I'm perfectly fine now -"

"...No, you're not!" She exclaimed, her voice breaking. "...It still causes you physical pain, I'm terrified of you overextending yourself and getting hurt -"

"...Allison," James said as calmly as he could. "...Everything's going to be alright. Believe me, with the kingdom on as high watch for Watts as it is, he's not stupid enough to try and get back in."

"...He's right," Emmeline agreed. "...Elizabeth, and even Blake, can testify to that. They've been in the meetings, and they know what defenses we have in place."

Allison hesitated, but then quietly responded. "...Okay."

"...To be honest," Emmett said slowly. "...I'm more worried about Oz. It seems like there's something he's not telling us."

Glynda scoffed. "...Don't be ridiculous. Either Oz is always keeping something from us or he's told us as much as he can. It bothers me, but it's not worth fighting over."

"...I disagree," Emmeline said, the laughing humourlessly. "...But I suppose that we all have to deal with the way things are in one way or another."

"...And that includes the dangerous game we're all playing," Elizabeth said darkly. "...I don't care what anyone says. This fight with Salem...it's only going to end in more bloodshed. There probably isn't much we can do to truly stop her."

"...Lizzie -" Michael started.

"...No," She said, a hint of sadness in her voice. "...Things are bad enough, and it seems to me that they're set to only get much, much worse."


	36. Chapter 36

_**August 13th  
Atlas Academy  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
6:13 PM**_

"We're leaving for our mission tomorrow!" Ruby shrieked in excitement as she bounced around her team's dorm. "Oh my god, I'm so excited! I feel like we haven't done anything as huntresses in _forever_!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Of course I'm alright!" She exclaimed. "How could I not be alright? What put that idea in your pretty little head, Weiss?"

Weiss glared at her as she patted her head. "You're not funny, Ruby."

"Oh, of course I am!" Ruby said, staring at her with unfairly wide silver eyes. "You know I am, Weiss."

"Just let her win," Yang said, an almost dark note to her voice. "If you don't, she'll just irritate you more."

"She's not irritating me," Weiss said stubbornly, crossing her arms and refusing to lose. "She's just trying to wear me down so I'll -"

"That means she's irritating you," Blake said knowingly. "Deny it however you like, Weiss, but she's irritating you."

Weiss stood up suddenly and glared at her. "And what makes you say that?"

Yang giggled. "Your entire look right now?" She suggested.

Weiss crossed her arms. "Shut up, Yang."

"In your dreams," She replied sassily, flopping backwards onto her bed and staring at the ceiling. "After all, you know I'm right."

"No!" Weiss snapped, pausing when she realised that wasn't helping her case. "I mean, no, of course you're not."

Blake laughed. "Weiss, you're proving our point."

"Aww...it's okay," Ruby said, standing up herself and looping an arm around her teammate's. "I know you love me either way, Weiss."

Weiss sighed. "Ruby, is there something about you that is preset on being happy happy happy?"

Ruby shook her head. "Come on, I'm just trying to lighten things up. It's not as if things recently have been particularly shiny and bright."

Yang scowled at the ceiling. "You've got that right," She said darkly.

"Yang?" Ruby said hesitantly. "What's that supposed to mean?

"Nothing," She said, involuntarily touching her metal arm. "I just hope tomorrow goes better than a lot of things have for us recently."

Blake shook her head and carefully climbed up to the top bunk to take Yang's natural hand in hers. "I'm sorry about what he did to you."

"It's not your fault," Yang said quietly. "I just wish you had stayed or at least told me why you had to leave."

Blake sighed heavily. "I didn't know how."

"That's not an excuse," Yang said, her voice nearly toneless. "But I know why you really did now, and it was because you didn't know how to face Adam hurting someone close to you again."

Blake stared at her as her cat ears folded into her head sadly. "You're right."

"Do you know why it hurt so much?" Yang asked her, fighting back the tears pressing at the corners of her eyes. "It hurt so much because I thought you cared, because I thought that things were different with you. That you wouldn't abandon me."

Blake embraced her awkwardly for a moment. "I'm so sorry, Yang."

"I know you are," She said, forcing herself to sit up. "But that doesn't change the past."

Blake hesitantly rested her head on her shoulder. "I'll do anything to make it up to you."

Yang was silent for a long moment, but then softly kissed her. "That's a start."

"Woah -" Ruby started, though she was cut off by Weiss sharply elbowing her. "Hey!"

"Be quiet, you dolt," Weiss said, albeit teasingly. "Maybe our team is finally fixing itself."

"Everything should go smoothly tomorrow," Blake said, a blush rising in her cheeks in spite of herself as she hopped down from Yang's bed. "It's not supposed to me a long mission. Just clearing out grimm on the outskirts of the City Of Mantle."

Yang snorted. "Because the last time our team had a mission that wasn't long, everything went smoothly. Didn't we and Dr. Oobleck crash a train into the City Of Vale?"

Ruby giggled. "Hey! It all worked out, and we saved everything!"

"That's exaggerating," Yang told her, giving her a pointed look. "Especially since the Fall still...happened."

"But things have gotten better!" Ruby protested. "Things in Vale are much better, Beacon's mostly repaired -"

"Calm down, geez," Weiss said, elbowing her again. "Do we need to get you sedatives?"

Ruby stared at her in horror but then jumped up onto her bed. "You'll never get me alive! Never! I will never surrender, not to the likes of you! Never!"

Yang rolled her eyes. "This is actually happening, isn't it? I'm awake?"

Weiss shrugged. "Honestly, who knows anymore?"

* * *

Cristal smirked to herself as she made herself comfortable in the CEO's office at the Schnee Dust Company World Headquarters. Lifting her feet up onto the ornate wood desk that she still found to be gaudy, she leaned back into the plush chair and tried to relax as much as possible. The opening hearings in the case against Jacques had begun earlier that day, and there were whispers that the DFAMA, the DCCCI, and the security council had a mounting case against him - one that was strong enough to damn him early on. She knew full well that, particularly in the kingdom of Atlas, court proceedings and especially those as high profile as this one were typically drawn out but she also couldn't help but hope that this would, perhaps, go much smoother and much faster. The evidence, after all, had been mounting for years and come to brighter light in recent months. With the case against him being so strong, there was a chance but that chance was, regardless, fleeting.

"Oh!" A young secretary exclaimed in surprise, pausing in the doorway. "Madame Schnee. I had no idea you would be here."

Cristal smiled and adjusted her glasses. "The chances are that I'll be here far more often than just this."

"So we've heard," The woman replied. "Arabella Chancer."

"Well, Miss Chancer," Cristal said, pulling her feet off of the desk and scratching its surface once more. "I hope you're not going to be too bothered by my...planned renovations for my office. It pains me to even look at the ridiculous things Jacques has done to it."

Chancer laughed in spite of herself. "The word around is that you and your brother have never been fond of him."

"Then that word is more than correct," Cristal replied with a faint smirk. "After all, I've never made much of an attempt to hide it."

"You and your brother are much better than Jacques," Chancer noted, then pausing for a moment. "Don't let that get out."

Cristal scoffed. "As if I would let that happen."

Chancer smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem," Cristal said, sighing as the woman left the room. "What to do, what to do?"

"Chrissy?" Ozpin hesitated in the doorway as she looked up. "I had a feeling you would be here."

She shrugged. "I missed my office, although I can't technically redo anything in here until it's mine again. Legally, that is."

He carefully shut the door, and then stepped over towards the desk. "Scratch marks? Can't imagine Jacques being alright with that."

Cristal laughed. "My heels, of course. That son of a bitch must know when he's beat, if he hasn't replaced it yet."

"I can see why you and Elizabeth are so close," Ozpin remarked, taking her hand as she stood up. "The two of you have the same sense of humour, amongst other things."

She shrugged. "She and I have known each other almost as long as I've known Allison. The three of us were all but inseparable for years."

Ozpin smiled as he embraced her tightly. "I'm glad you seem to be feeling better."

She sighed. "Well, I do think that the trip we took to Vale helped quite a bit."

"I had a feeling it would," He said, gently tucking one of her loose curls behind her ear. "How was the ultrasound this morning?"

Cristal hesitated. "Well, it was fine but that doesn't really make me feel much less worried about the baby."

"It'll be okay," He promised. "And if the doctor said the baby's fine, then I'm sure it is."

She nodded, though the tinge of anxiety didn't leave her face despite her attempts to force it too. "I hope so. Honestly, I'm less worried about the baby being alright than I am about being a good mother to it."

"Chrissy," Ozpin said, his voice completely soft and filled with love and concern for her. "I know that you're going to be alright."

She was silent and glanced around the room. "The last time I was in this room, before I…well, the last time I was talking with my father about how you and I had decided that we were going to have a family, that I was still concerned by his failing health, and that I was still…still so unsure of myself despite having successfully been running the company for over a year. The…the terrible thing is that I know he died thinking that he'd outlived two of his four children, one of whom was becoming an alcoholic because of the nature of her marriage and the other who was slowly going crazy."

Ozpin gave her a gentle squeeze. "I –"

"Oh my god!" A surprised voice exclaimed, and the clicking of heels ceased and a clatter was heard as her designer sunglasses dropped to the ground. "They weren't kidding when they said you and Emmett were still alive. Ozpin too, but that's less surprising."

Cristal's grey eyes went wide as she stared at the woman with faded red curls and the faintest hint of condescension in her face. "Mommy?"

"I can't decide if I'm more surprised than you are," Victoria Schnee said, haughtily picking up her shades. "Considering that I've been in Lantis for the last few months and only found out about this a few days when I got back into the kingdom. I feel like I should congratulate you on your marriage and pregnancy, although I'm not sure I feel the point when these things should have happened for you two almost two decades ago."

Ozpin sighed. "Victoria –"

"I'm not even going to get into what I imagine you've done," She said dismissively, turning back to her daughter. "I heard that Jacques' trial started today. Truly, I hope you and Emmett get the company back. The man – Jacques – is worse than I am."

Cristal looked at her mother in confusion. "What?"

"Right," Victoria said, rolling her eyes. "You seem to be shocked by the fact that I've become more humble."

Cristal scoffed. "If that were true –"

"Still sharp witted?" Victoria laughed. "Good to know, dear, good to know."

"What are you doing here?" Cristal asked her as she rested her head on Ozpin's shoulder. "You don't work here, after all."

Victoria smirked. "Neither do you, but here you are. If you must know, Cristal, I'm here because I was going to have a few sharp words with Jacques but I suppose he's not out of that trial yet. Oh well."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "Why –"

"I was going to try to talk him into forfeiting the company before Elizabeth Morell, Blake Adel, and Kiara Davis make him into the greatest fool in the kingdom," Victoria said, shrugging. "I'm not heartless, after all."

Cristal rolled her eyes. "Because that makes sense."

Victoria scowled. "Cristal –"

"I'm a bit surprised to see you, to be honest," Cristal said, giving her a sharp look. "Since –"

"Can you –" Victoria started, sending Ozpin a pointed look.

Ozpin pressed a soft kiss to his wife's forehead. "To be honest, I agree with her. It's a bit surprising to see you here, Victoria."

Victoria laughed. "Truly, I can say the exact same thing for the two of you…"

* * *

Winter sighed as Emmeline continued to appraise her hair. "General Ciel, you really don't need to feel the need to do this. The wedding's not even until December -"

"I'm just getting a basic idea of what I'm going to be working with," She told her, then shaking her head. "You really ought to stop dying it white. I know it makes you feel closer to your mother than to your father, but it's damaging your hair. And, no, I don't recommend that you start wearing a wig."

Winter turned slightly to look at her. "General Ciel, why are you doing this for me? I know that –"

"Winter, you don't have to be formal because we're not at work," Emmeline said gently. "And I'm doing this for you because not only am I your aunt, but because I genuinely care about you and want to alleviate any stress I can."

Winter bit her lip. "Emmeline, you don't need to feel the need to do that."

Emmeline crossed her arms. "Winter, if you're worried about your father doing anything, you shouldn't be. Do you really think he's going to be able to cling to power much longer?"

Winter sighed again. "I don't know. It's possible. If he's done it for this long –"

"For god's sake," Emmeline said in slight exasperation. "Winter, he's going to lose whatever case he thinks he has against Emmett and Cristal."

"How can all of you be so certain?" Winter asked her, staring at her with her eyes wide but then shaking her head. "I know –"

"Winter, we're looking at this from a political and legal stance," Emmeline said calmly. "I know that man did horrible things to you, and to your mother, and to your sister, and I imagine to your brother but –"

"But what?" Winter challenged. "Emmeline, I appreciate you trying to help, but you don't know him like my family and I do. He's capable –"

"Do you really think, considering that he lost the political influence he had years ago in the Natrilia Analytics scandal –" Emmeline started.

"Emmeline," Winter said, looking at her seriously. "He's not powerless."

She rolled her eyes. "That much is obvious. If he was powerless, this would have been over in a heart beat."

Winter scowled. "You don't have to be condescending."

"Well," Emmeline said, intentionally trying to provoke her into reason. "Maybe that's the only way to get through to you."

Winter's eyes widened in shock. "Emmeline!"

"Winter, you can't keep viewing the man as some unbeatable power!" Emmeline exclaimed, then shaking her head. "You're going to be alright, and he hasn't had any real power over you in years. You know that, don't you?"

"Of course I know that," She snapped. "But that doesn't mean that family has a certain hold over people that can't ever truly be severed."

Emmeline was silent for a long moment. "What do you mean?"

Winter stood up to her full height, several inches taller than the petite general. "Well, you hadn't quite ever gotten past Emmett's death, had you?"

Emmeline took in a sharp breath before shaking her head. "You know the answer to that, and I know just as well as you do that you're trying to play the same card I played on you. The difference is that it's not working. Winter, I know full well that I'd never truly gotten past Emmett's death and having him back has given me the one thing I wanted but never thought I'd have for me and my daughter. Chrissy too. It seems that the difference between us is that I find freedom in the truth whereas you see a dark light that you want to hide from."

Winter was stunned into silence, her thoughts racing.

"Look," Emmeline said, starting to pace with her low heels clicking. "I know this is hard for you, but I –"

"I just don't know how to deal with all of this," Winter said, probing her forehead. "I've told Qrow it doesn't matter, but it does."

"Of course it does," Emmeline said. "You're not wrong in saying that family has a certain hold. But you are wrong in letting someone like your father hold anything over you. You think Allison lets her own father hold things over her?"

Winter shook her head. "Of course not. Watts is nothing like her –"

"And you're nothing like Jacques," Emmeline said, pausing upon the door opening. "Emmett, can you please tell your niece that she's nothing like Jacques."

Emmett laughed for a brief moment. "Is that even a question? Winter's never been anything like him."

Winter stared at him. "You seriously think that?"

"I trained you as much as I could in your semblance before I…" Emmett trailed off and then sighed as he closed the door. "Before I died."

"I know that," Winter said, a bit glum as she sat back down on the small settee in front of the mirror. "But that doesn't mean I'm not his child, that I'm not…that I'm not the one he tried the most to make like him."

"Clearly, he failed," Emmeline said, giving her a pointed look as Emmett gently wrapped an arm around her waist. "And Qrow loves you even with who your father is. He and Blake are nothing alike in many ways, but unconditional love for their spouse is one of them."

"Hey," Emmett said, his voice a bit teasing. "I thought that was me, James, Michael…and I guess Oz too, with Chrissy."

Emmeline slapped his arm. "You know it is, don't even play."

"I don't want him to be worried about me over something like this that I can and will handle myself," Winter said, almost stubbornly. "It's not a big deal."

Emmett raised an eyebrow. "I'm not saying I like Qrow, but he's going to be worried about you no matter what. If not because of your father, then because of his semblance. Do you know how many times he's rambled on about how he's a curse?"

Winter sighed. "He's not."

"Seems like you tell him that a lot," Emmett noted, sharing a knowing look with Emmeline as he adjusted his glasses and shook out his long white waves. "He better start listening soon. He'll feel better, and I think you will too."

"He's right," Emmeline told her, sympathy written all over her face and her voice. "Winter, it's going to be alright. It has been, hasn't it?"

She glanced at herself in the mirror. "Honestly, I'm not always quite sure these days."


	37. Chapter 37

_**August 14th  
**_ _ **Outskirts  
**_ _ **City Of Mantle  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **6:17 PM**_

Ruby steadied Crescent Rose in her hands as the transport which had carried her and her teammates to the far west end of the City of Mantle began its descent. Glancing back at Yang who was all but glaring out the window at the decrypt, worn down landscape below them. Weiss had her arms crossed and Myrtenaster still attached to her side, while Blake paced with one hand on Gambol Shroud. Stepping forward a small bit towards the exit of the transport, Ruby Rose swallowed hard and watched the creeps, and the boarbatusks run while a few nevermores flew overhead - their caws filling the air with a perverse sound of triumph. Weiss tensed as the transport finally landed, placing both hands on the hilt of her sword, then hesitantly stepping over to where Ruby stood. Placing a hand on her teammate's shoulder, Ruby placed a hand on Weiss' shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly as Yang and Blake joined them in front of the exit.

"You guys ready?" Ruby looked to all of her teammates, and then nodding. "It's not that big a deal. We'll be in and out, right?"

Weiss grimaced upon looking out at the grimm running wild. "I'm not so sure...you do remember Mountain Glenn, don't you?"

Ruby sighed. "Yeah, yeah. But this won't be like that."

Yang crossed her arms. "Someone sounds confident."

"Because everything's going to be fine!" Ruby insisted. "I know it will! And we're stronger now than we were when we dealt with Mountain Glenn!"

Blake took in a sharp breath as the door opened and they ran out. "Please don't let this go to hell…" She prayed to no one.

The second she was out in the open, Ruby opened Crescent Rose into its full form as a scythe. Swinging it quickly into several creeps, she then stepped aside from a brief moment to allow Weiss to stab Myrtenaster through them. Even as more creeps came to the scene in a seeming attempt to aid their kind against the huntresses, Weiss and Ruby continued to swing and stab in synchronicity. Further from where they fought, Yang and Blake took on the boarbatusks - shooting at the nevermores as they continued to fly above and caw menacingly. To the surprise of all four girls, their synchronicity quickly cleared the creeps and the boarbatusks. A premature sense of triumph filled them, although they could not by any means explain where the shots that they could not themselves have possibly fired come from. Looking around, they reasoned it off to their other two teammates who were on the other side of the field; Yang and Blake believing it had been Weiss and Ruby while Weiss and Ruby believed it had been Yang and Blake.

They were far from correct on that scale, however.

Knowing that the nevermores were still a serious threat, the four reconvened in the centre of the field from where they could see all five of the terrifying creatures circling above and the city lights of Mantle flickered in the distance. Steading themselves in a circular formation, the four young women set their weapons in their hands. Weiss shifted the Dust in Myrtenaster to fire. Yang punched her fists together and then prepped herself to shoot from Ember Celica. Blake shifted Gambol Shroud into its gun. Ruby knocked the Dust to gravity and then spun Crescent Rose over her head as she turned it into its setting as a sniper rifle.

Sharing a long look with each other, they began to fire at the grimm flying above. The monstrous creatures let out sharp cries of pain, followed by harsher caws that were akin to battle cries. The four girls strengthened themselves against the sounds which brought headaches pounding against their skulls. This was not entirely because of noise. The memories of the night Beacon fell came back in full force. Weiss swallowed hard and continued to fire glyphs and Dust at the grimm who were slowly becoming more and more unable to fight back against them. Thoughts swirled in the former heiress' head of the way the alarms had gone off, the way blood had been spilled, the way that it had felt as if everything they'd loved and had been training for was being ripped away from them all at once and tossed mercilessly into the flames of hell.

Ruby was in no better a state, even as she gritted her teeth. While her silver eyes narrowed and she continued to fire upon the grimm, her mind was racing and she couldn't help but remember the way Pyrrha had been helplessly stopped by Cinder upon the tower. Tears stang at the corners of her eyes as the memories torrented. The summoned sword of obsidian that Cinder had summoned with a smirk and a glint in her amber eyes, and the way that it pierced through Pyrrha's heart just before Cinder destroyed her completely were fresh once more. The last words spoken betwixt the innocent and the sadist returned as faint whispers in her mind. Nothing, it seemed, would be able to ever wash her clean of the horror of what she had seen, of the glaring reality of the world.

 _Do you believe in destiny?_ Pyrrha had asked just seconds before she died.

 _Yes_. Cinder had replied as she had prepared herself for the kill.

Out of the corner of her eye, while Ruby and Weiss successfully brought down two of the weakened nevermores, everything that Blake could feel was damn near numb. Glancing over at Yang, whose eyes had turned red upon the activation of her semblance, Blake couldn't help but remember how they had both seen Adam that night, how Yang had saved her yet lost her arm. How Blake had saved her after, manipulating Adam with her semblance, and how she could have lost Yang that night. Continuing to fire upon the three remaining nevermores, Blake brought down one with Yang, Ruby, and Weiss' aid. With two more left, she blocked out her thoughts on the subject as she had trained herself to do from a young age.

Yang scowled upon the two remaining nevermores that still cawed in eerie triumph whilst the wind whipped about the area. Her blonde hair flung around her face even as she continued to shoot about towards the two creatures with her teammates, and she steeled herself against her thoughts. The memories of Adam, and the fight she had against him came back in full force. Her red eyes continued to narrow as she kept on fighting. Within a few minutes, she and her teammates brought down a nevermore leaving only one. Still, it was difficult to be brought down and fought back viciously and with a fear inspiring cackle. Even as their auras broke, they tried their damndest yet still were alone in the field with the nevermore.

Or so they thought.

In the moment, they thought that they were going to have to snap onto the transport and flee from the scene which could have threatened to destroy them. Yet, much to their surprise, the shots fired out of nowhere returned once more. This time, the four young women realised that none of them had been the ones who had fired the shot as they had previously thought. Staring at each other in shock as they watched the nevermore disintegrate, they all swallowed hard with their eyes wide. A sharp tension hung over them as the wind continued, the lights flickered for the city in the distance, and a silence rung out. Starting towards the transport, their mission seemingly complete, they still could not shake the uncanny feeling of something being off.

Their intuition, in this instance, did not fail them.

"Not even a thanks?" A haughty, male voice said, startling all four of the women who turned towards where he had spoken. "I suppose that my intentions preclude you from that, however."

Weiss' eyes went wide. "Arthur Watts?"

" _Dr_. Arthur Watts," He said, brushing off his gun. "You, Miss Schnee, like your teammates have been on my master's list for a long time."

"Let's go," Blake said, her voice shaking. "Weiss -"

Watts swiftly fired a shot towards Yang's foot, and, with her broken aura, it went through and her blood started to flow out of it. Yang let out a shriek of pain, causing her teammates to run to her aid. With Ruby's aid, Blake began to carry her towards the transport and Weiss quickly followed. However, Weiss didn't turn fast enough. Her thoughts having consumed her for long enough, Watts was able to quickly shift his target from the young woman he thought of as a common street rat and to the heiress with whom's father he'd worked without knowing he had been manipulated. As soon as she had realised what was happening, it was too late. Weiss' aura being just as broken as that of her teammates, the bullet went straight into one of the bones of her ribcage and she began to bleed with a dark stain starting to appear in the centre of her dress. Running the best she could in spite of the pain towards the transport, she barely made it before the doors closed and she collapsed in a heap on the cool, metal floor of the transport just as she lost consciousness and Watts smirked - his message made in blood.

* * *

"Emmy?" Emmett said, looking at his wife in concern as she bit her lip and continued to pace. "Sweetheart, are you alright?"

Emmeline paused for a moment but then shook her head. "Emmett, I don't particularly want to talk about it."

"Something's bothering you," He said, standing up and coming over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Emmy, please tell me what it is."

She was silent but then rested her head on his shoulder, letting him pull her close. "I got some shocking news right before I left work."

Emmett raised an eyebrow as he rubbed her back. "Can you tell me about it, or is it confidential?"

Emmeline sighed. "Technically, it's still confidential but it'll get out soon enough. What is crazy to me is that even Elizabeth didn't hear it officially yet. I can't imagine her knowing until tomorrow, though."

Emmett chewed at the inside of his cheek. "If Liz doesn't know yet…"

"What doesn't Liz know yet?" Cristal asked as she stepped into the room, adjusting her glasses. "I'm serious, Emmett, what doesn't Liz know yet?"

Emmett rolled his eyes. "Chrissy -"

"Fine," Emmeline said, shaking her head. "Watts is back in the kingdom, and he shot both Weiss and Yang on their training mission. James found out as soon as they -"

"Oh my god…" Cristal said, probing her forehead and stepping backwards in shock. "Is...Ashlynn isn't, is she?"

"She goes by Cinder now," Emmeline reminded her. "And, as far as we know, she's not."

"Thank god," Emmett said, pulling his wife closer. "I don't want her to be able to hurt us, especially since she'd been threatening you and Cas for years."

"Chrissy?" Emmeline said, looking at her in concern. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Cristal swallowed hard, her grey eyes wide, and a ringing in her ears that she could have sworn was from her psychitity even as she adjusted her glasses.

"Chrissy?" Emmeline repeated, still looking at her and sharing a glance with Emmett. "Chrissy?"

"What…" Cristal said, her voice shaking. "What did you say about Watts?"

Emmeline's brow furrowed in confusion but she repeated herself nonetheless. "Watts is back in the kingdom, and he's still just as dangerous."

Cristal's eyes went wider than before behind her glasses, and she could hear faint shrieks. Grasping onto the edge of the couch, she steadied herself and sat down against it. Closing her eyes, she tried to calm herself and block her psychitity. Biting her lip as she began to calm down, Cristal let herself break away from it and think rationally. Even as a throbbing headache beat against her skull, she forced herself to remain as calm as possible. However, she did not open her eyes until she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Looking up, Cristal stared at her husband who, like her brother and sister in law, was looking at her in immense concern.

"Chrissy?" Ozpin said, cupping her cheek. "Are you okay?"

She sighed heavily. "I'm sure I'm okay, it was just a...just a psychic moment."

Emmett and Emmeline shared a long look.

"You're joking," Emmett said, his voice shaking. "I thought -"

"You thought what?" She said, starting to feel sick once again. "Emmett -"

"I thought I was the only of us who still had those," He said, taking a moment to breathe before shaking his head. "I had one earlier today, but it was unclear except for the sound of gunshot."

"Which was probably not inaccurate," Emmeline said darkly. "Considering what happened."

"What are you talking about, Emmeline?" Ozpin asked her, wrapping an arm around Cristal's waist. "And does it have anything -"

"Yeah…" Cristal said, running a hand through her thick white curls. "It probably has something to do with what I think I heard, especially if Watts is really back in the kingdom."

Ozpin sighed and pushed up his glasses. "I can see why that would do it."

"Of course it would do it," Victoria said irritably, kicking her heels aside as she stepped into the room, then turning to her son and daughter in law. "I hope it's not too much of a problem that I came in uninvited."

Emmeline rolled her eyes. "Yes, Victoria, because any of your entrances to my house ever have been invited. Like the conversations you've had with my daughter."

Victoria scoffed. "Oh, please. The conversations I had with your daughter were invaluable in helping her develop her ability to pick up psychic imprints. I helped my own children -"

"You're the reason Ashlynn's so fucked up!" Cristal exclaimed, her voice almost shrill. "If you hadn't tried to make her better than the rest of us because of that one damn vision you had -"

"I never should have acted upon that vision," Victoria said, looking away in slight shame. "But I did and I can't change the past. I never...I never expected her to turn into that. I'm ashamed of her, and I'm ashamed of myself."

Cristal sighed heavily. "Still."

Victoria glared. "Cristal Annabelle Schnee -"

"You still -" She argued, matching her mother's glare.

"Cristal, you might be an expectant mother but you can't understand the difficult questions that a mother has to make," Victoria shook her head sadly. "Not until you have to make them yourself."

Cristal took in a sharp breath, pressing a hand to her visible curve. "I -"

"That baby inside you doesn't make you anything like me," Victoria snapped. "You have no reason to think that -"

"Shut up!" Cristal snapped, standing up quickly and scowling at her mother. "You think I'm not already worried about my baby? That I don't have enough things to worry about? My company hangs in the balance -"

"Oh, please," Victoria said, laughing. "You and I both know that you and your brother are going to get the SDC back."

Cristal sighed. "Well, of course -"

"Let me guess," Victoria said, her eyes narrowing at her daughter. "You think you're like me because you're pregnant."

Cristal crossed her arms. "I've never claimed to be like you."

Victoria smirked. "You sure about that?"

Ozpin stood up and wrapped an arm around his wife again as she began to shake. "Victoria, look, Chrissy and I know -"

Victoria snapped her fingers to cut him off. "Cristal is more like me than she'd care to admit."

Cristal scoffed. "I'm nothing like you."

Emmeline nodded, giving Victoria a sharp look. "What the hell is your problem?"

"Do you even know how difficult my life has been?" Victoria demanded, haughtily adjusting her coat. "Do you have any idea what I've been through? Do you have any idea what it was like, what it was like for me when I lost Cristal and Emmett only to have them -"

"You think Ozpin and I didn't have a hard time after what happened?" Emmeline stared at her in outrage as she let Emmett pull her closer. "I was devastated, not to mention terribly worried because at the time I was pregnant with my daughter!"

Victoria didn't back down. "It's not the same."

"So?" Emmett said, giving Emmeline a gentle squeeze. "This isn't all about you!"

"Yes it -" Victoria started before realising how she sounded. "You think you would have been anything without me? You think your father would have been much without me?"

"You and daddy hated each other," Cristal reminded her, forcing her breathing to remain steady. "Or at least acted like it half the time."

"We were to young when we married," Victoria snapped. "What would you know about that?"

Cristal stared at her, eyes wide. "Mommy -"

"And, for the record," Victoria said, a note of regret in her voice as she glanced at her daughter and the way Ozpin had rested a hand protectively over her curve. "I never wanted to be like this. All I can hope for is that your child ends up better off than the rest of this family. It'd be a damn shame if things went to hell for them too."

* * *

"I'm telling you," Elizabeth Morell said, giving Allison a sharp look as she leaned against the counter. "It's all going to be fine."

Allison shook her head. "Not when Blake finds out."

"And you thought that by telling me that he wouldn't?" Elizabeth countered, and Allison scowled. "I can't keep this from him, if only for professional reasons."

Allison was silent for a long moment, but then bit her lip. "Lizzie, he doesn't need to know. Can't you keep this quiet for me?"

"No, and let me explain," Elizabeth said, setting her scroll on the charging dock while Allison sighed. "The man loves you and your children more than anything. Of course he's going to be worried, but it's out of love. You and I both know that if you keep this from him that he's going to be -"

"I know," Allison said, not wanting to hear what she already knew yet again. "But I...I don't want him to be scared. He's already, literally, taken a bullet for my sake and I don't want him to feel the need to again."

"I get that," Elizabeth said, pouring herself a glass of wine. "I feel that way when it comes to Michael and his desire to protect me from Cinder."

"Of course he'd want to protect you from her!" Allison exclaimed, staring at her in surprise. "After what that...that bitch did to you -"

"Minus, of course, a few of the more gruesome things that Cinder did to me," Elizabeth said, pouring Allison a glass of wine and handing it to her. "How different is it to what Watts did to you? Slapped you, belittled you, did everything in his power to reduce you to the point where you felt as if fighting back could -"

"I don't want to…" Allison sighed as she began to sip her wine. "You're right, but -"

"Look," Elizabeth said gently. "You have to tell Blake. The man left you another threat...and, while I don't know how he got back into the kingdom, he's still dangerous. Not only should you not have to go through that alone, but at this point in your life it isn't just about him hurting you and Blake. You have four kids, the youngest two being nine years old. Do you really think he's above hurting your family just for his own gain?"

Allison brushed tears away from her eyes. "Lizzie, please don't make me think about that."

"Allie, you have to tell him," Elizabeth said, giving her a pointed look. "And -"

"Fine," She said, setting down her wine glass and storming into the other room where Blake, Michael, Glynda, and James were. "I'll -"

"Allie?" Blake said, looking at her in concern as she tore the door open. "You okay? James -"

"Blake, if you'd give me a minute to talk then I would explain what I found out just as I was leaving work," James said, sighing. "Especially since I'm sure -"

"Give me a minute," He said, stepping into the kitchen where Elizabeth was a bit too interested in the colour of her drink. "Liz, what are you doing?"

"Huh?" Elizabeth said, breaking out of her thoughts. "Oh, right. Allie has something she needs to tell you."

Blake raised an eyebrow but then smiled. "Let me guess: you're pregnant again and don't know how to tell Chrissy and Glynda."

Allison shook her head. "I wish it were that, but no. If that's all I was worried about, then our lives would be so much easier."

Blake's amusement melted quickly into deep concern. "Oh my god, Allie, what happened?"

She pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket. "This was on my desk at work this morning. I saw it just before a meeting with my board of directors."

Blake scanned over the note for a moment but quickly dropped it to pull his wife tightly into him, cursing a bit at the pain he felt in his left shoulder. "Oh, Allie...god, if he's really back in the kingdom -"

"As far as I know," Elizabeth said, giving him a pointed look. "That report isn't substantiated. He could have, for say, had an underling plant that note to scare her, to scare both of you."

Blake considered that for a moment. "Allie, what do you think?"

She hesitated. "I might sound paranoid, but I really think he is back in the kingdom."

Blake sighed as he gently released her. "I'm going to file an official report with the DFAMA's security council -"

"Under what circumstances," James said, finally coming into the room with Michael. "Would you of all people have to file an official report to the council that Elizabeth chairs?"

Elizabeth shrugged and then took another sip of her wine. "Could be anything. A grimm in town that could have been fake, the abominable snowman, or an abominable man who shot the shoulder of his son in law for no other reason than to freak out his daughter and spite her family."

"Watts is back in the kingdom, you know," Michael said, wrapping a gentle arm around her waist. "You really want to be making jokes?"

Elizabeth gave him a pointed look. "That was an allusion, not a joke. And how is it that you have that information before I do?"

"Outside of my civilian job," He said, kissing her cheek. "I am a military commander, and James told me this as we were leaving work. Apparently it's got Emmeline scared half to death or something like that. I imagine her father will react more, though. After all, Ciel has to protect and guide the entire kingdom and part of that is keeping men as dangerous and manipulative as Watts from gaining power."

Allison scoffed. "My father has a silver tongue. He can do any damn thing he likes, practically, and get away with it."

"Not true," James countered while Glynda crossed her arms with her crop in hand. "But he still is dangerous. We can all agree on that. Especially since he seriously wounded Weiss Schnee and perhaps crippled Yang Xiao Long. She might have to get her foot replaced, based on how bad the reports on the way he'd shot it were. Miss Schnee, on the other hand, is lucky to be alive."

Michael raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"He shot her in the chest," James informed him, a hint of anger behind the clear sympathy for the young women. "It went into one of her ribs, not her heart."

"Does Winter know?" Glynda asked him, and James shook his head. "Qrow?"

"I haven't told them yet," James admitted. "I intend to tomorrow afternoon, as unpleasant as that will be."

Allison shrugged. "Depends on how drunk he is."

"Who's making jokes now?" Elizabeth sassed, glancing to her husband. "I'm not the only person in this room with a terrible -"

"I know," He said, softly kissing her. "But -"

"The point is," Blake said, giving both of the Morells a sharp look. "The two of them have even more of a right to know than we do. Qrow's Ruby's father, Weiss' brother in law...future brother in law...and Winter is Weiss' sister."

A tense silence passed.

"How long ago was this?" Elizabeth asked James sharply, setting down her wine. "Well?"

James sighed. "Earlier today, during their training mission."

"What the hell could he want to do with them?" Allison demanded, then calming herself the best she could. "Well?"

"I don't know," James admitted. "But, to be honest, we all have good reason to be worried. It appears that not even Atlas is truly safe anymore."

Elizabeth laughed humourlessly. "We've all grown up and live in this kingdom. We've all raised or, in you and Glynda's and Cristal and Ozpin's cases, will raise our children here. We know it's not safe, and that doesn't stop us from living. The question is now how much has really changed, and how much Salem knows. After all, it's not as if Watts would take a risk like this without a damn good reason, and for him that could easily be power."

"Power that we have," Glynda remarked dryly. "In case you hadn't noticed, _Madame_ Morell."

Elizabeth scowled at her for a brief moment before sighing. "If only that weren't so true. These are indeed dark times, and even our children know it or will. No matter what we do, I think we may very well have lost all chances for true peace."

"You're a true cynic," Blake commented as he took Allison's hand with his right, ignoring the sharp pain in his left. "But you're not wrong."

"You know what I mean," She said, then glancing out the window at the glistening city lights. "And I really do think that this might be a pointless war. And, even more to the point, why are we all so lost? What is it we're really after? Stability?"

Glynda stared at her as she adjusted her glasses. "Don't the four major kingdoms, within themselves, technically have that? It's not really stability, it's protecting the world. Lizzie, I know where you're coming from but that's not really what we're after."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Reall? Because I think, at the end of the day, we're fighting the right fight but for all the wrong reasons. After all, we all hold positions of power and influence even if not the most bluntly major."

Allison sighed. "I know, Lizzie, but apart from my family and the Schnees, it's not as if any of us are well known, or famous. Political influence isn't the same as social influence."

Elizabeth shrugged. "So what? Of everyone, the members of the group and our families have the most to lose and that's what we're trying to preserve."

"Of course we are," Blake said, kissing Allison's cheek. "But that's not a bad thing."

Elizabeth sighed. "Not per se, yet we're not trying to do what's right, we're trying to preserve our lives. And, to be honest, we're not nice people."

"That's not entirely fair," James said, giving Glynda gentle squeeze. "We all try -"

"Trying isn't enough," Elizabeth snapped, then shaking her head. "Proving my point, and if we're being honest with ourselves, all of us - and our children - are so damn mean when it comes down to it. But do we care? No, because we're fair about it. We're so damn mean to the world, but we're even worse to ourselves. No wonder we're a mess."

A long silence passed amongst them, but it was nothing compared to the thoughts that every member of the group fell asleep within the back of their minds that night - thoughts that they tried their damndest to push away, thoughts of pain and doubt that were not just about the entire group but about themselves personally.


	38. Chapter 38

_**August 15th  
Atlas Academy  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **3:12 PM**_

"General Ironwood, sir, what exactly is going on?" Winter raised an eyebrow as she stepped into the room with Qrow. "And where exactly is my sister? Wasn't the training mission that she and her teammates went on complete several evenings ago?"

James sighed and motioned for them to sit down. "Yes, they were able to successfully clear the grimm out of the sector but there is something far more…difficult that both of you should be aware of."

Qrow stared at him, his eyes wide. "Is Ruby –"

"Ruby is perfectly fine," James said, and he relaxed for a moment. "As is Miss Belladonna. Weiss and Yang, however –"

"What?" Qrow said, staring at him in horror. "They're alive, aren't they?"

James nodded shortly. "Yes, although Yang might need a new foot and Weiss is lucky to be alive."

Winter paled. "What exactly happened, sir?"

James sighed. "Dr. Arthur Watts has managed to make his way back into the kingdom, and he shot down the last grimm that was attacking them simply to do so himself. He shot Yang in the foot, and he also shot Weiss in the chest."

"How the hell did she survive that?" Qrow asked him, staring at him in slight confusion. "James –"

"The bullet went into one of her ribs," He informed him, and Winter nodded weakly. "They're not sure if they're going to be able to remove it."

"But she's going to be alright either way?" Winter asked him, her voice shaking against her will. "Isn't she?"

"Yes," James confirmed, and both Winter and Qrow visibly relaxed. "But she's still terrified."

"Probably no more than the Adels will be when they find out," Qrow remarked, shaking his head. "If Allison doesn't flip out, which we all know she will, then Blake is going to and we all know how protective he is of her. It would be the same thing if Cinder was still –"

"Cinder is still alive," Glynda snapped as she stepped into the room and slammed the door behind her with her crop. "I asked a few people in the Mistrali Council to keep an eye out for her, and there was a report – a verified report – of her being sighted in Argus."

Qrow groaned. "Damn it all! How the hell _isn't_ she dead? Raven –"

"Since when is Raven our best informant?" James asked him, looking at him quizzically. "I don't doubt that she thought she'd killed Cinder, but clearly that wasn't the case."

Qrow scowled. "Oh, so what's your brilliant plan to handle this, James? You know that you have to tell the Council that 'Ashlynn Schnee' was confirmed to be still running around in one of the biggest Mistrali-Atlesian port cities, don't you? God, how is _Madame_ Elizabeth Morell going to take that, _General Ironwood_?"

James was silent for a long moment, but then sighed. "Qrow, this isn't going to be a simple matter but it will be dealt with. Yes, the Council will be informed and in that of course includes Elizabeth being one of the first to know as she chairs the Atlesian Security Council within the DFAMA."

"That's not going to go well when you tell her," Glynda remarked, then shaking her head. "Although I understand. Of course she'll be worried, after what that woman did to her."

"As with Salem, can we even really call Cinder a woman?" Qrow took a sip from his flask even as he took Winter's hand tightly in his. "Considering that she barely acts human. With her and Watts running around…I'm not sure that –"

"Things don't look good," Winter finished for him, then standing up and falling back on her professionalism to break away from her emotions. "But at least we know."

"That is an advantage," Glynda agreed. "But that doesn't give us too much of an edge. Watts still successfully assaulted four young women and injured two of them, while Cinder is, I imagine, more than willing to force her way back into the kingdom and do whatever it takes to gain more power under Salem's instructions."

A weighty silence passed as they all tried to process, but their thoughts were interrupted by four others buzzing into the room.

"Did you know about this?" Emmeline demanded as soon as she stepped into the room, her scroll clearly showing a photograph of delicately handwritten note. "Well?"

James glanced at the photograph but then shook his head. "I just found out that she's alive, I –"

"Emmy," Emmett said, gently wrapping an around her waist. "I'm pretty sure that she's not in the kingdom. If anything, Watts probably 'delivered' that for the sake of freaking us out."

"Emmett, you have no godly idea how dangerous your sister has become," Emmeline snapped, then pausing upon realizing how harsh she sounded. "Emmett, I'm sorry but this is –"

He cut her off with a soft kiss. "It's alright, Emmy."

She sighed. "Well, it seems like we've got more than a few decisions to make. Especially considering that –"

"Emmeline, I don't know if her powers as the Fall Maiden left her," Ozpin said calmly, squeezing Cristal's hand off. "The could have, but she might still be the Maiden. Either way, she's still incredibly dangerous and we must be cautious."

Emmeline scoffed. "You act as if I don't know that."

"Did you take one too many bitchy pills today?" Qrow asked her, and Winter gave him a sharp look. "Win, you and I both know that someone needs to call Ciel out on her bullshit –"

"My bullshit?" She demanded, staring at him in complete outrage. "I'm sorry, and your refusal to make contact when we ask you to during missions, your ridiculous and selfish views on your semblance –"

"Your tendency to be derisive and short," Qrow countered, matching her tone. "The chip on your shoulder, your tries, along with the Morells, in the last few months to make it clear that the group needs Atlas? Because you know what? We don't!"

"Qrow, you're being ridiculous," Glynda snapped, crossing her arms and scowling. "I don't always agree with the decisions Emmeline, the Morells, the Adels, and even James have made or tried to make but that does not mean you –"

"Glynda, what the hell have Emmeline and the Morells and the Adels ever done that wasn't in the interest of the kingdom of Atlas?" Qrow calmed himself and recomposed himself as best he could. "In fact, isn't Elizabeth even known for having said, in a Council meeting, that the –"

"Qrow –" Cristal started, scowling at him.

"No, listen," He said, and she crossed her arms and continued to scowl. "Cristal, you know just as well as everyone else that what I'm saying is valid."

"You're going out of your way to be a pain in the ass because of what happened to RWBY on their training mission," She told him unapologetically, adjusting her glasses as she spoke. "Frankly, I think you're looking for any reason to pin all of these things on Atlas because you actually blame yourself for not being able to be there to save your daughter and her teammates. Perhaps you think it's your…your _semblance_?"

Qrow took in a sharp breath even as he glanced to Winter who had a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Schnee," He said, his voice shaking as he addressed Cristal. "That is way too far, and you know it."

Cristal scoffed. "Oh, please, I can tell figure those things out for myself."

"Can you?" Qrow asked her, unable to even be harsh by how deep she, like Elizabeth, was able to cut with only her words. "Because you seem to like not thinking before you speak, you like saying exactly what's on your mind."

"And what's wrong with that?" She asked him. "What's wrong with not being like you?"

"Chrissy," Ozpin said gently. "This is just going to make things worse –"

"And since when have things looked like they were going to get better?" Cristal's voice shook, and she looked at him with her eyes wide. "Everything gets darker every day."

Emmeline hesitated, but then nodded. "Case in point."

Qrow glared at all of them. "You know what? Make your plans, I don't care. And, as I had been saying, maybe Elizabeth was right that Atlas doesn't have allies, it has interests. Seems like all of you feel that way too."

"Qrow –" Ozpin started as he stormed out of the room with Winter watching him in concern.

"Win's the only who gets it," He said sadly, then looking to his fiancé. "I'll see you later, okay?"

The door slammed before anyone could say another word, and it seemed that, truly, that the shining light had sunk into the darkness of the inky water which threatened to subsume all.


	39. Chapter 39

_**September 1st  
**_ _ **9:05 Couture  
**_ _ **World Headquarters  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **5:09 PM**_

"Allie," Blake said as she continued to pace around her office. "Allie, I'm sure it's going to all be okay."

"No, it's not," She said, her hands shaking. "If he managed to get into the kingdom – if he managed to get into my office even once – then it's not going to be okay. Blake, he's still going after us –"

"I know that," He said gently. "But you know I'm not going to let him get to us. Really, Allie, it's going to be okay. Even Elizabeth conceded to that last night, when I reminded her that the Council's not going to stand for Watts being back in the kingdom. They'll find him, arrest him, and that will be the end of it."

Blake stood up and, not even caring about the pain, pulled her in as tightly as he could. "Allison Caroline Adel, everything is going to be okay. No one is going to hurt you. I won't let them."

She bit her lip. "Blake -"

He pressed a gentle, soft kiss to her lips. "Allie, honey, no matter what you are always going to have me. I love you too much to risk losing you."

She sighed upon him flinching when he tried to move his left shoulder to give her a reassuring squeeze. "Blake, how many times do I have to tell you that I don't want you to overextend yourself trying to be affectionate?"

"And how many times do I have to tell _you_ that the pain is worth it because I have you?" He countered, booping her nose. "Boop."

Allison giggled in spite of herself. "Blakey -"

"Allie," Blake said in complete seriousness. "If it would make you feel better, I have no problem with having sex with you on your desk right here and right now."

She giggled even more. "We'll get caught!"

"I suppose maybe we should wait until tonight, then," He said, and she smiled.

"You know that I'm not going to say no to that," She replied, kissing his cheek. "I've told you before that if I had the choice that your hands would never be off of me."

"I get it," He said, one hand slowly traveling lower down her back. "Especially given how much you -"

"Oh, don't turn me on!" Allison exclaimed as he squeezed her ass. "Blakey, you're going to drive us both crazy if we both -"

"Alright," He said, lifting her up even as a few tears stung at the corners of his eyes from the pain in his left. "Do you want me to just hold you and comfort you?"

Allison nodded. "I do have another meeting with the board of directors in an hour, though."

"Okay," He said, carrying her over to the small couch in her office and sitting down with her curled in his arms. "Allie, what's really bothering you? Not just your father, but why is it that this time it seems worse for you?"

She bit her lip, but then rested her head on his good shoulder. "Because the last time he was in the kingdom, he shot you."

Blake sighed. "Allie, me getting shot wasn't a huge deal. I know it was at the time, but it isn't anymore"

"How wasn't it?" She stared at him, and then buried her face in his chest while he stroked her hair. "If he hadn't been -"

"I don't care that he was just trying to get to you," Blake said, kissing her forehead. "I protected you, and that's what's important. You're safe, I'm safe, and our family is safe. We don't have to worry, so we shouldn't. Okay, Allie?"

"Okay," She said softly. "How have…how have things gone at work the last few days?"

Blake smiled a bit and kissed her cheek. "I do actually, amongst all the shit that's gone on recently, have some good news regarding work."

She raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Well," He said, giving her a gentle squeeze. "Liz sent me a rather surprising notice signed by her and the entire DFAMA."

"Blake," Allison said, smiling. "What is it?"

"It wasn't official until yesterday morning," He said as he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "Because the DOJ had to approve it as well as the DFAMA, but I was promoted the position of head of the DOJ."

Allison stared at him for a long moment but then swiftly kissed him, her lips lingering on his for a long moment. "Blake, that's wonderful news."

"Emmeline is taking my previous position," He added. "That was also in the document. Although I have to admit, it was a bit strange walking into my office and seeing a large file on my desk informing me that the DFAMA and the chair of the security council had approved me as the new head of the DOJ upon the previous head resigning over being exposed as being paid off by Jacques for the last three years."

"It wasn't just him," A haughty voice said upon stepping into the room. "I certainly –"

"What the hell do you want?" Blake demanded, standing up quickly and reaching for his gun before realizing he didn't have it on him. "And how'd you –"

"You would be surprised, Adel," Watts said, sending a glare to his daughter who had stood up as well and was shaking slightly. "By how a threat can get you so much. Pointing this…" He pulled out his gun and examined it for a few seconds. "At several people downstairs really did allow me to get up to the CEO's office. I must admit, though, that I didn't expect you would be here. I was hoping it would just be my daughter."

"Why?" Allison snapped, crossing her arms. "What –"

"Because you, Allison," Watts said with a smirk. "Are not as powerful as you think you are."

She scowled. "The hell is that supposed to mean?"

He stepped forward, pushing Blake harshly into the wall with his already pained left shoulder being slammed into it. "You and your husband hide behind your name and your political influence but –"

"Allie," Blake said, groaning as he pulled himself up. "Where's –"

"In my desk," She said quickly, and he, in spite of the pain, tore open her desk drawer and pulled her gun out and pointed it at Watts. "And –"

"Adel," Watts said, laughing. "Do you really think that trick is going to work again?"

He steadied it in his hands and kept it pointed at him. "Do _you_ know that you are one of the most wanted men in the kingdom of Atlas and that you're threatening the head of the Atlesian Department Of Justice and his wife?"

Watts narrowed his eyes. "Since when has that been the case?"

"Recent," Blake snapped, using his right hand to take Allison's tightly in his. "But you're –"

"Ah," Watts slowly stepped back towards the door, reaching for the fire Dust in his back pocket. "Well, do tell Madame Morell that I am more than pleased to inform her that Cinder is alive and well. And, believe me, she will be more than happy to know that Madame Morell thinks she's safe. None of you are anymore, and I hope you know that."

Blake pulled Allison close to him and steadied her gun in his hand but he wasn't fast enough and Watts slammed the fire Dust into the floor. A cloud of smoke filled the room for just a moment in which he slipped away once more – much to the chagrin of the Adels.

* * *

Winter scowled at Emmeline as she sat down across from her. "General Ciel, might I have permission to speak freely?"

Emmeline raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Considering that I haven't reprimanded you for that look you're giving me, I should think so."

Winter reformed her countenance immediately on instinct. "Was it really necessary to pick a fight with Qrow?"

"If I recall," Emmeline said, clasping her hands together and propping her elbows up on her desk. "It was Chrissy who called Qrow out, not me."

Winter sighed. "My apologies, General Ciel."

Emmeline smirked a small bit. "Go on with what you were saying, Schnee."

Winter was silent for a long moment. "General Ciel, I need permission to take off work for the next few weeks to go to Patch, Vale."

Emmeline's amusement melted away, an eyebrow raised once more. "What?"

"I need permission to take off work for the next few weeks in order to go to Patch, Vale," Winter repeated calmly. "After what happened, Qrow went back. He's –"

"Fine," Emmeline said, pulling a piece of paper out of her desk. "I need you to file that, though."

"You're approving it?" Winter's eyes went wide. "I thought you were going to make me fight you for it."

"I don't have the time or the energy to fight you over something like this," Emmeline said, pausing for a second and biting her lip. "I've got enough on my mind without going out of my way to fight you over going to Patch because your fiancé ran off there out of shame or something."

"General Ciel, he went to Patch because Cristal and Elizabeth have gotten him convinced that he's going to hurt me because of his semblance," Winter sighed sadly as she went on. "He thinks he's a curse."

Emmeline sent a cursory glance towards her perfectly polished nails, her thoughts elsewhere as Winter continued to fill out the leave of absence form. "Winter," She said slowly. "None of us hate Qrow, he's just unreasonable sometimes and we snap back without realisng how harsh we are."

Winter shook her head as she pushed the filled out form towards her. "I'm so sorry about all of this, General Ciel, but I have to do this."

Emmeline sighed heavily as Winter left the room and she scanned the form into the system with her scroll. "I know you do…"

* * *

"Chrissy?" Elizabeth said, sighing as she stepped into the sitting room where Emmett had said she was with Ozpin. "Oz. Figures that you might as well hear this. Emmett too."

Emmett shrugged as he sat down next to his sister and her husband. "Did they find Cinder?"

Elizabeth flinched involuntarily but then shook her head. "No, there hasn't been any progress in tracking her down completely."

"What about Watts? He asked her. "Is he still in the kingdom?"

"Most likely, yes," Elizabeth admitted. "But I don't know anything for sure right now. Just to be clear, though, I left work early to tell you something that both of you are going to be happy about."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, giving his wife a gentle squeeze. "What is it?"

"The Department Of Fiscal Affairs And Corporate Restriction VS Jacques Louis Schnee, ne Gelè concluded today," Elizabeth said, unable to hide the smile that was rising on her lips. "And the court ruled in favour of the DFACR."

Cristal's grey eyes went wide. "Oh my god…I got my company back?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Like I said, the court ruled in favour of the DFACR under the statement that Nicholas' will was clear in its intentions. You and Emmett are alive, and, to them, were never dead. The provision was in the extreme case both of you were dead, and since that was never met it was never truly valid. They also cited the many charges of business malpractise that have also been levied against him recently and said that he is unfit to run the company thereby returning it and its deeds to you and Emmett."

"How long until the transfer formally goes through?" Emmett asked her, sharing a happy look with his sister who had rested her head on Ozpin's shoulder. "Or have they not given a time frame?"

"A few weeks," Elizabeth said, and Cristal sighed in relief. "In which a few other cases surrounding Jacques are probably going to be brought relating most heavily to the charges of malpractise, bribery of public officials, etc."

"His career and influence isn't going to survive that," Cristal noted as she adjusted her glasses. "Not that it's based on anything that feasibly could survive."

"I agree," Elizabeth said, her heels clicking as she paced. "The fact that he's had to bribe members of the Council, members of the Council who have since been removed and tried for that over the years, to get his way is proof enough of that."

"Does Emmy know yet?" Emmett asked her, and Elizabeth shook her head.

"I thought you should be the one to tell her," She said.

"To tell mommy what?" Cas asked, poking her head into the room. "What's going on? Wait…is mommy having a baby like Cristal?"

Emmett shook his head. "No, Cas, Emmy's not pregnant."

Cas' face fell. "Oh."

"But," Emmett said with a faint smile. "When she gets home you and I can tell her that Chrissy and I have gotten the SDC back."

Cas blinked rapidly. "Seriously?"

Emmett nodded. "Of course it is. You really think I'd suggest lying to your mother?"

Cas laughed. "No. You and mommy are really close."

"I love you and your mother more than anything," Emmett assured her. "I don't have any secrets from her."

"Okay," Cas said. "When's she getting home?"

Emmett glanced at the time. "She should –"

"…Emmett?" Emmeline called as her heels clicked on the stairs. "…You home?"

"In here," He called back, and she all but ran into their room. "Hey, don't hurt yourself."

"Liz?" Emmeline stared at her in surprise. "Oh god. Something's happened, hasn't it?"

"Yeah," Cas said in half hearted sarcasm. "Daddy says you two are having another kid."

Emmeline sent Emmett a sharp look. "Why would you tell her that?"

Emmett stared at her for a moment before his pale blue eyes went wide behind his glasses. "What? Emmy, she's –"

"I sent you a message this morning, didn't you check your –" Emmeline started.

"I couldn't find it –" He said, staring at her in confusion.

"Oh my god," Cristal said, looking at her sister in law. "You're pregnant, aren't you?"

Emmeline turned slightly pink. "I thought only Emmett had known…"

Emmett immediately stood up and pulled her in tightly. "I'm happy, I really am. Just surprised, that's all."

Emmeline sighed. "I was too, but then again I'm only forty three."

Emmett gave her a gentle squeeze. "You're only five years older than me and my teammates."

Elizabeth smirked. "Don't make those of us who are forty six feel bad."

Emmeline laughed. "Lizzie, don't even go there."

Elizabeth shrugged. "Well, I'm happy for you two."

"Me too," Cristal said, smiling at her sister in law. "Although I think Cassie –"

"I'm going to be a big sister!" Cas exclaimed almost giddily.

"Cassie," Emmett said, shaking his head. "Maybe calm down?"

Cas nodded, and then skipped off happily out of the room.

"Well," Elizabeth said, giving Emmeline a falsely sharp look. "I take it you're going to be filing an official report with the council regarding this in the next few days?"

Emmeline scowled. "I found out this morning, don't be pushy."

"I never had to file because I'm not in the military," Elizabeth reminded her. "But you need to file to take an official leave of absence from all military situations that require combat until after –"

"Lizzie, this is not the first time I've had a kid," Emmeline said, crossing her arms as Emmett wrapped one around her waist and gave her an affectionate squeeze. "If I'd never lost Emmett in the first place, this would have happened a lot sooner."

"I know," Elizabeth said, putting her hands up. "I'm just teasing you, calm down."

Cristal laughed. "Lizzie, I think you've been like this for years."

"You and I are very much alike," She said as Cristal curled into Ozpin who was stroking her hair. "And, yes, I have been like this for years."

"There is something much less happy that we need to discuss, though," Emmeline said, running a hand through her hair. "Relating to Cinder and Watts."

Elizabeth tensed. "Of course."

"Liz," Emmett said slowly. "You don't look well."

"I just…" Elizabeth said as she shakily sat down on one of the small settees. "I just don't want to think much about Cinder, that's all."

"Lizzie," Cristal said, concern rising in her voice. "What's going on?"

She hesitated, but then pulled a small note out of her pocket. "I got this yesterday…"

Cristal raised an eyebrow. "From her? What does it –"

"It says…" Elizabeth swallowed hard as she forced herself to read it. "Elizabeth Lillian Morell, if you ever thought you could escape then you were wrong. Nothing is ever going to go in the way you want it to regarding this. You're forever going to be wrapped around my finger, and your power and influence is never going to stop me. Even death couldn't. Cinder Fall."

Emmeline looked at her sympathetically. "Lizzie, I'm so sorry –"

"Michael's terrified," She admitted quietly. "Frankly, I am too. Even knowing that the kingdom is on watch for her and Watts doesn't help…"

"That relates to what I was going to say," Emmeline said, and they all stared at her. "I received a confirmed report today that Cinder is back in the kingdom as well as Watts."

"No," Cristal said in horror. "How is that even possible?"

"Right now, we don't know," Emmeline couldn't even hide the annoyance on her face. "But we're hoping that this time we'll catch them."

"They're both working for Salem, which makes them even more of a threat," Ozpin added. "This isn't looking good at all."

"That's what I've been saying for months…" Elizabeth mumbled, burying her face in her hands. "And you're only listening now?"

Cristal looked to Ozpin in concern. "Oz, what's –"

"For now," He said, kissing her softly and then pressing a gentle hand to her curve. "Let's not worry too much about the baby because it's going to be fine, and let's focus more on the fact that you've got a company to run and reform."

Cristal nodded weakly. "Alright."

Emmett cupped Emmeline's cheek gently. "Emmy, how bad are things looking?"

She hesitated, but then looked to Elizabeth. "Lizzie, you might know better than me."

Elizabeth looked up, her brown eyes wide, but then sighed heavily. "Things _are_ bad," She confirmed, but then shook her head. "And we have to do everything we can, now more than ever, to keep our grasp on the fragile peace we've spent our lives taking for granted."


	40. Chapter 40

_**September 2nd  
City Of Patchara  
Patch  
Vale  
8:33 PM**_

"Qrow, Winter's probably worried sick about you," Tai said, glaring at his brother in law. "I get that you're worried about hurting her, but that's exactly what you're doing."

Qrow matched his glare. "I never thought Elizabeth Morell or Cristal Schnee could get to me, but there might have been -"

"Shut up," Raven said, crossing her arms. "If you're going to be a -"

"I just need time to process," He snapped. "You don't have to a bitch about it."

Raven rolled her eyes. "And you don't have to disappear because Elizabeth Morell and Cristal Schnee have said pissy things to you. Elizabeth has no filter, as we all know, and neither does Cristal which is made worse because she's pregnant."

Tai raised an eyebrow. "Did you just call Cristal hormonal?"

Raven laughed. "Sorry, was that too subtle?"

"Can both of you be serious for two moments?" Qrow stared at both of them as if they were crazy. "I am not going to be here forever, I just need time to process everything. Is that so bad?"

Raven shrugged. "Process too long, and maybe you'll realise I'm right."

"You're wrong about Oz," Qrow said, his voice almost challenging her. "He does have a plan. You know, though, if you want to make fun of Elizabeth Morell then you should know that you and Liz agree that Oz 'isn't the man he says he is.' She's more graceful about it than you, and less extreme, but she even tells him she thinks that this whole thing is a wild goose chase."

"Well," Raven said, her eyes narrowing. "Maybe for once miss Lizzie was right. I have no problem giving credit where credit is due, and it seems like she _is_ a bright and tactical politician."

Qrow scowled. "Of all the things you could agree with Morell on, that's what you do?"

"You never believed me when I told you the things I saw," Raven reminded him. "You never believed me when I told you about -"

"That whole damn thing with the nevermore was an accident," Qrow snapped. "It wasn't a trap. What was a trap was you opening Haven's vault. Tell me, Raven, how much do you really know?"

"A damn lot," She replied, matching his tone perfectly. "And what do you care? I killed -"

"You didn't kill Cinder," Qrow informed her, and she took a small step back in surprise. "You think I haven't kept up with the news? This morning President Ciel gave a speech imploring for national unity and strength in the face of new developments regarding two of the most dangerous criminals in the world - Arthur Watts, and Cinder Fall. Turns out both of them managed to sneak into the kingdom of Atlas."

Tai crossed his arms and then sighed. "Of course they did. I take it the Adels and the Morells didn't take that news well?"

"The Schnees didn't either," Qrow said, glancing at his scroll which was filled with messages he had read but not responded to. "Emmett, Emmeline, Cristal, and Ozpin are pretty damn pissed too."

"Why?" Raven rolled her eyes when he didn't respond. "Ugh, is it because Cinder was once 'Ashlynn Schnee'? Because that's their mother's fault. I knew Cristal...relatively well before her death, and she told me all about how their mother raised the girl to be perfect but it really turned her into a power hungry maniac that only really listens to herself."

"Sounds like you," He muttered. "Minus the thing with their mother."

Raven glanced out the window, rubbing her arm. "That's not fair."

"Sure." Qrow said, rolling his eyes. "You listen to other people, of course."

Raven shook her head. "You're never going to -"

"Taiyang Xiao Long, you really ought to be locking your damn doors," A female voice said as she stepped in through the back kitchen door. "I know this isn't Atlas, but aren't you worried about -"

"Winter?" Qrow looked up, staring at his fiance and pushing his flask, which had been on the table, aside. "What are you doing here?"

"You act like I can't track your scroll," She said, giving him a pointed look. "Qrow, I -"

"I don't want to hurt you," He said as Raven shared a look with Tai, turned into her corvid form, and flew out the open window. "Win, I am a curse or I was at least born with one. I could hurt you, I could hurt everything if you and I ever have a family -"

"We can deal with things like that when we get to it," Winter told him, crossing her arms as Tai awkwardly slipped upstairs. "Qrow, please -"

"Do you really think that I'm not going to hurt you because of my semblance?" He asked her, his voice softer than usual. "Win?"

She hesitantly stepped over to him and embraced him. "Your semblance doesn't define you anymore than my family name does. We're not defined by what we're born, we defined by what we're made."

"You quoting something, Win?" He asked her with a weak smile. "Sounds like it."

She sighed. "I'm well versed."

"I don't doubt that," He said, hesitating for a moment but then kissing her cheek. "Win, do you want me to come back to Atlas?"

"As soon as you can," She said, and he nodded. "Qrow, I don't want this to be us. We have to be able to fight through things."

"I know," He said, sighing. "I'm sorry, I just lost it."

"Things aren't as bad as they seem," She said, her blue eyes wide. "I know it feels that way, but we can and will make things better."

"How?" He asked her, tucking an uncommon stray lock behind her ear. "How are we going to make things better?"

"We'll figure it out," She promised him, taking his hands tightly in hers. "After all, that's what we do."

* * *

Cristal smirked as she turned on the lights in her office. "Ah, so this is really mine once more. Something about that is oddly satisfying."

"Maybe to you," An irritated voice snarled as he stormed into the room. "Apparently I have to get my things out of here by next week because you've ordered renovations. I don't see why, the office is perfectly luxe."

Cristal scowled. "Hello to you too, Jacques. Did you forget, by chance, that I'm not into gaudy displays of wealth and prefer subtle, sleek simplicity?"

"I never realised you were such a stickler for such things," Jacques said, rolling his eyes. "I always thought that you got off to taking things that aren't rightfully yours."

Cristal laughed. "Sounds like someone's projecting. After all, _this entire company_ was never rightfully yours."

"I'm surprised no one has felt any desire to make you shut up," Jacques snapped, pulling several smaller items off the shelves and placing them into a cardboard box. "And yet I am subjected to this after being one of the most successful businessmen of nearly the last two decades."

Cristal shrugged. "If by successful you mean profitable, then yes."

"Sometimes," Jacques said, his icy blue eyes narrow. "You have to step over the little people for the good of the majority."

"The quote un quote greater good?" Cristal challenged.

"Exactly," Jacques replied.

"You've never been much more than a manipulative snake," Cristal said shamelessly. "Frankly, all those lies you've entrapped yourself in have only been your downfall. The games you've played have finally caused you to meet your match."

Jacques raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"

Cristal smirked and slapped her hand against the desk. "Check and mate."

"I'm not surprised that you're after the company you once ran with so much force," Jacques said, venom lacing his voice. "But I can imagine that means you're going to put your career before your child. How much better than me do you think you are?"

Cristal clenched her fists. "A damn sight better. I'd never hurt Oz, or our child."

Jacques scowled. "And you think I haven't gone to great lengths to -"

"Cut the pretense," Cristal snapped. "You've done nothing but hurt your wife and children and it's horrible. You're better than Allie's father, but not by much. If you'd just been involved in unethical aura experiments and the creation of a certain species grimm scarcely known and restricted to a small part of Mistral, a grimm species known as 'the apathy', then you would be on his level."

Jacques shook his head. "You don't understand."

"Perhaps that's because I'm a decent person," Cristal remarked dryly. "I'm flawed, but at least I try to be decent."

"You're much more than that," A gentle voice said, pausing in the doorway and leaning on his cane. "I know you better than anyone, Chrissy, and you're a wonderful woman."

Jacques scoffed. "You're not going to be saying that when she puts her career before your child."

Ozpin sighed a stepped over towards his wife and took her hand. "That's not going to happen. Our family is going to be perfectly fine."

Jacques snatched up his box and then stormed out of the room.

Cristal smirked as she turned to her husband. "I think I've finally plucked one of his nerves."

Ozpin laughed. "I've always loved your sense of humour."

"It's not even that," Cristal said. "It's that I'm not being nice, I'm being right and that is just so satisfying."

"I can understand that," He said wrapping his arms around her waist. "I told you things would start to go our way."

"I just hope now that things will calm down and we'll be able to defeat Salem," Cristal said, then sighing heavily. "Oz, I'm still -"

"I don't love her," He swore. "I haven't in millenia."

Cristal shook her head. "That wasn't what I was going to say. What I was going to say is that I'm worried we won't be able to defeat her."

"We will be," He said, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "Chrissy, it's going to be okay and our family is going to be just fine too."

She was silent for a long moment, but then nodded. "Okay."

"Our baby is going to love you," He murmured as he pulled her in close. "I know it will."

Cristal smiled. "Oz…"

"We're going to be okay," He promised her. "And I'm not going to stop fighting until we defeat Salem because not only will that protect the world, but it will protect our family and I will be a man again."

Cristal brushed away tears from behind her glasses. "Don't make me cry…"

"I love you, Chrissy," He vowed. "You're my wife, and I love you and our child more than anything."

She pulled as close to her as she could. "I love you too…" She whispered, silently praying that nothing would come between them and their family.

* * *

"Emmy, honey," Emmett said in concern through the bathroom door. "If you need anything, you know you can tell me."

"The only thing I hate more than you right now is how sick I feel," She said, sounding exhausted. "I wasn't like this with Cas, why is it worse?"

Emmett sighed. "Emmy, can't morning sickness vary by pregnancy?"

Emmeline finally opened the door and scowled. "I know that."

He pulled her in tightly. "It's going to be fine. I'm sure the baby will realise to not make its mother sick. Honestly, it's going to be fine."

Emmeline stared at him for a moment but then rested her head on his shoulder. "Emmett, how are you not scared?"

"You're scared?" He said, gently stroking her hair. "Why?"

"Emmett, what if something happens to the baby?" She said softly. "What if I miscarry?"

He gave her a gentle squeeze. "You won't. You know I'm not going to let anything happen to you, or Cassie, or the baby."

She was silent but then nodded. "I'm being silly. It's probably just the ridiculous morning sickness that's messing with me."

"I'll help you through this," He promised her. "Nothing's going to go wrong, and the baby's going to be perfectly healthy when it's born. And you know Cassie's happy about this. She was -"

"I know," Emmeline said, her voice far more tired than irritated. "And, to be honest, there was just a lot at work today and...and puking in between meetings really didn't help."

"Everything seems to be pretty crazy with the Council," Emmett sighed as he took her hand and the two of them stepped back into their bedroom where they sat down on the edge of their bed. "And I can imagine your father was surprised when he found out -"

"Emmett," Emmeline said gently. "I haven't told my father yet."

He stared at her. "What?"

"You really think it's going to be easy telling my father that...that I'm pregnant again?" She sighed. "Emmett, you and I both know how he feels about you."

"I know, he's always thought I'm too flamboyant or too much in general," Emmett rolled his eyes. "If he really wanted a reason to hate me, he should have capitalized on how vicious I am."

"You're not vicious, don't even go there again," Emmeline gave him a sharp look. "Emmett, he doesn't hate you and he's glad we're happy...but he always imagined me marrying someone else."

"Well," Emmett said, wrapping an arm around her waist. "That's not how things worked out, now are they?"

She nodded. "I'm glad I have you back."

"I'm glad I am back," He said, kissing her gently. "Our marriage was cut too short."

"Well," She said as she curled into him. "That didn't have to be the case. I'm not thrilled with a lot of things Ozpin has done, but I can never repay him for bringing you back and giving us a second chance."

"I'm not going to let you go," Emmett promised her. "I don't want us to lose each other again."

"I don't either," She said, her voice breaking slightly against her will. "You the first morning I woke up with you beside me since you came back...I was so relieved that we were together, that I wasn't -"

Emmett cut her off with another gentle but passionate kiss, one hand cupping her cheek and the other on her waist. "I love you, Emmy."

She smiled. "I love you too."

"Mommy!" Cas yelled from downstairs. "Daddy! Edward's here!"

Emmett raised an eyebrow. "I feel like I should have noticed it before, but she calls your father by his first name?"

Emmeline sighed. "She always has. I don't know why, but it's one of her idiosyncrasies that has always reminded me of you."

Emmett grinned as he helped her up and spun her into his arms. "She is our child."

Emmeline laughed in spite of herself. "That she is."

A silence passed tensely between them.

"Emmy," Emmett eventually said. "Can we please tell your father about the baby?"

" _We_ just found out yesterday, and you want to tell my father already?" Emmeline hesitated but then shook her head. "What the hell. He'll find out since I'm sure the notice I placed in the Council's records will get to him sooner rather than later."

Emmett wrapped an around her waist and rested one hand protectively over her abdomen. "I'm sure he'll be just as happy as we are."

"Emmett, don't be too obvious," She said gently, and he sighed but then simply took her hand. "I'm nervous enough, and you don't have to go out of your way to -"

"It's just your father," He reminded her. "It'll be fine, and you know I love being affectionate to you. I love you so damn much, Emmy."

"I love you too, and I'll never forget how much…" Emmeline trailed off for a brief moment. "I'll never be able to forget how much faith your father always had in us, and how much he cared."

Emmett bit his lip. "I wish he hadn't died thinking he'd outlived half his kids."

"He couldn't have known," Emmeline said, straightening herself as she and Emmett stepped into the living room on the second floor where her father was waiting with Cas. "Cassie, what are you doing?"

Cas feigned a look of surprise as she hopped down from where she'd been sitting on the counter and picking at her toenails. "It's not as if I'm biting."

Edward Ciel grimaced. "You're joking, aren't you?"

"I wish she was," Emmeline muttered. "But, yes, sometimes she bites her toenails."

"It's only when I can't find the nail clipper!" Cas protested. "And I only do it as soon as I'm out the shower and I'm sure my feet and toes are clean."

Emmeline rolled her eyes. "I don't think that's a good idea, and I've always told you not to do it."

Edward laughed. "You've always had a sense of humour as a mother, haven't you?"

Emmett smiled and swiftly kissed his wife's cheek. "I've found she's a good mother and a loving wife."

Emmeline blushed. "Emmett -"

"You know how I feel about you," He said with a smile. "How I've always felt about you."

Edward sighed. "Emmett, why don't we discuss what's been going on in the family?"

Cas perked up slightly. "Like daddy and Chrissy getting their company back?"

Edward laughed a bit. "Casseia, you are more focused than you like everyone to believe."

Cas shrugged. "I'm a psychic. Daddy is too."

Edward tensed. "I forgot that unnaturally strong intuition runs in the Schnee family."

"Technically," Emmett corrected a bit awkwardly. "It runs in the Silver family, which is my mother's side."

Ciel narrowed his eyes for a moment but then shook his head. "My apologies, Emmett. It's been a long time."

Emmeline scowled. "There's no reason to be hostile, dad."

Edward was silent for a moment. "Emmeline, I'm sorry, I'm just incredibly stressed and there's more for me to deal with than I've ever expected to have to face. Peace is slipping through our fingers, Watts and Cinder are back in the kingdom. You know this full well, and I'm sorry if I've been shorter or more on edge lately."

Cas looked at her mother with wide eyes as she hopped down from the counter and adjusted her glasses. "Mommy, tell Edward the good news! Come on! It's really exciting!"

Edward raised an eyebrow with half a smile. "Don't tell me you and Emmett are getting some sort of ridiculous car or wardrobe change."

"No, it's nothing like that," Emmeline said, and her father laughed a little. "I promise this isn't something ridiculous."

"Alright, then," He said with a smile. "What is it?"

Emmett gave his wife a squeeze. "Personally, I'm ecstatic."

Emmeline sighed. "I am too, but that doesn't mean I'm not worried."

"Come on…" Cas groaned. "Stop bouncing around the bump!"

Edward gave her a funny look. "That's an odd metaphor."

"But, soon enough, fitting," Emmeline muttered. "And I suppose the wardrobe change thing isn't entirely untrue."

"Emmeline," Edward said slowly. "What exactly are you talking about?"

She glanced to Emmett for a moment before sighing. "I found out yesterday morning, and officially noted today, that I'm pregnant."

Edward blinked but then smiled. "Emmeline, that's lovely. I know you and Emmett always wanted to have a family, and I'm glad the two of you are able to have another child."

"See?" Emmett said, kissing her cheek. "He's happy for of us."

Emmeline smiled weakly. "Emmett…"

"I'm going to be a big sister!" Cas said in a sing song voice. "Ooo...mommy, daddy, do you think she'll like me?"

"She?" Edward stared at his granddaughter. "Casseia, I'm sure your mother is barely a month pregnant. There's no way for you to know that."

"Frankly," Emmett said. "It feels right to me."

"You were right about Cas being a girl," Emmeline added with a faint smirk. "And I trust your visions, but -"

"What do you want to name our second daughter?" Emmett asked her, booping her nose. "Aria Spencer Ciel-Schnee, maybe?"

Emmeline laughed. "Emmett, can we wait until we know for sure?"

He shrugged and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "Sure, Emmy. You know I'll do anything to make you happy, after all."


	41. Chapter 41

_**September 9th  
Atlas Academy  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
2:29 PM**_

"Oh my god, Weiss, I'm so glad you're okay!" Ruby shrieked as she tightly embraced her teammate upon her walking into their dorm. "And that they _finally_ released you upon deciding that you're well enough!"

Weiss grimaced slightly, her one of her ribs still bruised from where the bullet had been removed. "I think you're hugging me too tight, Ruby."

Ruby quickly released her, an apologetic look in her eyes. "Sorry." She squeaked.

"I'm glad you're okay too," Yang commented, scowling at her damaged foot which she was still working with walking normally on. "Especially since you were in more danger than the rest of us. Although I'm still troubled by the whole thing."

"General Ironwood said we're not going out on another training mission until this situation is resolved," Blake added, mostly to Weiss. "Although that applies to the other teams too. Seems like we'll be having combat more often instead."

"Great," Yang said tonelessly. "More of Goodwitch snapping at us."

"Yang?" Ruby said worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"I don't think any of you are really 'alright'," A rough voice remarked from within the doorway. "Sorry, Rubes, but I don't think that alright is the way to describe how you all are right now."

Yang pushed herself up from where she was in her bed. "Uncle Qrow? What are you doing here?"

"Winter's getting fitted for and choosing her wedding dress," Qrow informed them, pulling out his flask and taking a sip. "And I didn't really think it was something I'd be much help in. She's going to look amazing in whatever she chooses."

Weiss glared at him, albeit mostly teasingly. "That's my sister you're talking about."

"Eh," Qrow said with a smirk. "I'm sure having Yang on your team means you've heard worse."

Yang stared at him. "Since when am I the bad girl?"

"Since you were two," Qrow replied. "I know it was you who ate the cookies."

Ruby giggled. "What?"

"Let me tell you a story about the young little Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long," Qrow said, shrugging and then sitting down on top of the low bookshelf below the window. "Ruby was a few months old, and Yang was nearly three but she was still two at the time."

"You're the worst!" Yang exclaimed in exaggerated anger. "I was two! What could I control? Two year olds are still learning to walk without falling and shit themselves! Parents have to do all the monkeying to care for them."

Weiss coughed. "Not if you have night maids and night nurses."

Qrow scowled. "Hey, quit reminding us all that your family is rich."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Says the man marrying into it."

"Why don't you get back to this story?" Blake suggested, giving Ruby a look which prompted her to wrap an arm around her partner. "Before Weiss slips back into her heiress public face."

"Winter, Whitley, and I are no longer the heir or heiresses to a damn thing," Weiss snapped. "Not only were Winter and I disinherited, but Whitley lost his standing as heir because Emmett and Cristal took back the company. Not that that isn't a good thing and that he deserved some comeuppance for being a terrible brother."

"That's not how your sister described him," Qrow noted. "Win says that he acts like an asshole, sure, but that he does it because he doesn't know how else to protect himself from his father's abuse. Sounds a hell of a lot like both of you because it's just an act. He just relies on it more."

Weiss pursed her lips but then sighed. "Go on, embarrass Yang and Ruby."

Blake cringed in spite of herself. "Weiss…"

Qrow was silent for a moment but then went on. "So baby Ruby was just learning to crawl and couldn't quite talk yet. Yang, on the other hand, was a blabbering baby and ran around like a maniac when she could. She also, like every kid, liked sweets."

"I still do," Yang said dryly. "Don't make fun of me, everyone does."

"Well, anyways," Qrow said, his smirk rising once more. "Tai had _thought_ that the cookie jar was empty, so he could put flowers in it since it was winter. The jar was sitting on the coffee table in the living room, and he had plans to put water and flowers in it as soon as he'd caught up on cleaning. I was half watching the kids, really just making sure they didn't die –"

"Brilliant parenting," Blake said, laughing a bit.

Qrow shrugged although he couldn't help but feel the sting of the young woman's words despite her not intending them in that way. "Well, I wasn't keeping a close enough eye on them and Yang climbed up onto the coffee table and, after Ruby had crawled over to its edge, she tipped the jar over and let the cookies out which Ruby mainly sucked on and she started shoving in her face and stomping on and crushing. I don't think there's a messier thing than cookie crumbs and two little babies. Especially after Yang broke the jar. I'd heard it when she tipped it over, and I picked Ruby up off the floor to stop her from choking on one of the cookies since she'd barely begun teething. Yang, in that moment, pushed the jar off the table and it shattered. Tai was pretty upset, apparently the jar had been his mother's, but he has a really hard time being angry with Yang since she's his daughter and was the only thing he really had left after Raven disappeared."

Yang sighed. "How much trouble will I get in if I do something like that now?"

"A lot, probably," Qrow remarked, then winking at her. "But, if you don't caught…did it ever really happen?"

"That's a _wonderful_ thing to teach someone," Weiss said, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure you'll be a great father at whatever point you and Winter have a kid."

Qrow flinched at her remark but then chuckled in spite of himself. "You bet I will be. The kid will need _someone_ to negate the effects of their uptight aunt."

Weiss scowled. "Yang's right, you're the worst."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, Weiss. Ask your sister if she agrees, because I _know_ she doesn't."

* * *

"Winter, you look beautiful," Cristal said, smiling as her niece stepped into the living room. "I like that cut on you."

Winter glanced down where her midriff was half exposed. "Cristal, I look like a prostitute."

Allison snorted. "As if. You know, if you'd let me design your dress, I could tailor it, the fabric, the design and everything to your budget."

"What exactly is going on here?" Emmeline asked tiredly, slipping off her heels as she entered the room. "And if there are dress racks and a stylist in the next room, I want to know when I lost all control in my own home."

"Emmeline, it's just here," Winter said gently. "And you, Cas, and Emmett will have this floor back in a few hours."

"Eh," Blake said, sipping his champagne as he rested his head on his wife's shoulder. "That depends on how fired up you get about this, Allie."

Emmeline shook her head. "I went into work incredibly early this morning so I could leave early for a check in for my pregnancy, and this is what I get for it?"

"I'd offer you champagne, but you can't drink so I'm sorry for drinking in front of you," Blake said as he took another sip. "Your child will be worth it, though, I promise. I have four of them."

Allison nodded. "Believe me, I'd never drink again if I had the chance to have another kid."

Cristal took advantage of the moment and addressed her niece. "Come on, Winter, if you don't want to show skin, then go try another one on. Most people don't go with the first dress they try anyways."

Winter stared at her for a moment, but then nodded. "Alright."

"I did a damn good job with her hairstyle," Emmeline commented, smiling tightly at Cristal. "And, honestly Chrissy, you did a great job at recreating it."

Cristal smirked as she leaned back a small bit into the chaise lounge, adjusted her glasses, and then gently rested a hand over her curve. "I try. The good thing is, with the renovations starting today, I've gotten to work from home which is going to be the case for the next few weeks."

"Which should help you relax," Ozpin said, leaning over and kissing her cheek. "You're a brilliant bussiness woman, Chrissy, but you, like everyone else, need to relax sometimes."

She shrugged. "I'm sure that the baby will start trying to tell me that too when it starts kicking."

Allison rolled her eyes. "Chrissy, you're -"

"What about this one?" Winter stepped back into the room in a high collar dress with an extravagant hoop skirt and matching gloves that went all the way up to her elbows. "I -"

"Holy shit," Emmett said as he stepped into the room. "Winter, what are you wearing?"

She scowled. "This is one of the options for my -"

"No," Emmett said, giving her a pointed look. "Winter, how old do you think you are?"

"I'm in my twenties," She said, crossing her arms.

"Not in that dress you're not," Cristal said, then glancing around before looking to Allison. "Allie, what was it that you were telling me the other day about -"

"Fine!" Winter exclaimed, glaring at all of them as she left the room once more. "I guess they do want me to dress like a toned down prostitute."

Emmeline laughed. "She couldn't look like a prostitute if she was walking up and down the street half naked. I love her, but she's so self conscious. Maybe Qrow should be here for this. He'd set her right."

Emmett shrugged as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "I'm pretty sure he'd just like everything she's wearing."

"And do you want us all to die?" Allison asked her. "I'm not in the mood to deal with his love of alcohol."

"That's not entirely fair," Ozpin said, then sighing. "Although I can understand where the concern arises from."

"If I recall," Blake said, sharing a look with Emmeline. "In one of the times Qrow was exceptionally  
drunk, he –"

"I don't need a reminder of the insane things my fiancé has done," Winter said, her hands on her hips as she came back into the room in yet another dress. "And was this jazz era dress really necessary as a choice?"

"I think it looks fabulous, especially with the flapper fringe," Allison said, and Winter sighed. "It's not as traditional, but it's beautiful on you."

Winter looked down towards the hem of the dress which only reached her knees. "You really think so?"

"Take a risk, it's good for you," Cristal told her. "Either that or you'll end up looking like a prude."

Winter scowled. "Do you really have to insult everything I put on that doesn't show my legs or shoulders?"

"Did you not see –" Cristal started.

"If you'd –" Winter matched her aunt's tone perfectly.

"Why does it matter?" Blake stared at both of them. "It's not as if Allie –"

"Your wife designed her own dress and she didn't have a group of people tearing it to pieces!" Winter reminded him in exasperation. "What so wrong with the hoop skirt?"

Cristal rolled her eyes. "Winter, you looked like you were in your nineties, not your twenties. Either that, or you were some queen from before the –"

"You look beautiful, Winter," Emmeline told her. "Honestly, with the way Chrissy mimicked my work with your hair and with that diamond, feather shaped clip was the right way to go."

"I told you it'd look fabulous," Cristal smirked at her niece who sighed. "Look, Winter, at the end of the day, it's your choice. You can dress like it's two hundred years ago if you want to, and I'm sure Qrow will still want to rip that dress off you and ravish you."

Winter grimaced. "I don't think that helps."

"I'm teasing you," Cristal said laughing a bit. "I promise, Winter. It's all going to be fine. This isn't something that should be stressful, this should be enjoyable."

Winter considered that for a moment. "Then, fine. I'll take a risk."

Emmett gave her a pointed look. "Define risk."

Winter smiled. "I'm going with this one. The jazz-era style."

Allison clasped her hands together happily. "Yes! You chose one of my dresses!"

Winter stared at her. "What?"

"Check the tag," Allison said, giggling. "I didn't even have to push you. For the record, the dress is on me. I don't mind, you deserve a day to look stunning without worrying about a damn thing."

Winter laughed. "Well played, Allison, well played."

* * *

Elizabeth sighed as she continued to look over papers forwarded to her from the rest of the DFAMA. With the recent events regarding Watts, Cinder, and the attack on Team RWBY still fresh in everyone's minds, it seemed as if all that could be discussed was relating to it some way, shape, or form. Glancing at her scroll which was plugged into the charger in her desk, Elizabeth considered taking a pause from her work in order to respond to messages from the Ciel-Schnees, Cristal, the Adels, and, of course, her husband but her eye was caught by a recent photograph. Although she could only see the date and a bit of blurred mixture of coloured darkness at the top of it, it the date was of two days prior and therefore of interest enough to her. Anxiety pooling within her, the Elizabeth pulled out the photograph and took in a deep breath when she examined it. Setting it down after a long moment, she made a note to file it along with other highly classified materials and ran her fingers through her hair. Standing up slowly, she began to pace and reorganise her thoughts but, as fate would have it, this was short lived as the door to her office opened rather unexpectedly.

"Madame Morell," The calm voice of Edward Ciel said as he stepped into the room. "I apologise if this is an inconvenient time, but there are some things we need to discuss."

Elizabeth flinched slightly at his sudden entrance, but then nodded. "Take a seat, President Ciel. I imagine this isn't the first meeting you've had today with department heads."

"You're not technically a department head," He reminded her with a bit of sharpness to his tone. "But, yes, I have had meetings with the DNLNE, the DCCCP, the DCCCI, the DOJ, the DFACR, the DFAMA, the treasury secretary, the head of the investigative committee, and, now, you."

"Tara Sparks, Kiara Davis, Cristina Jennings, Blake Adel, Adeline Carrington, Karissa Mar, Reva Flores, General Emmeline Ciel, and myself," Elizabeth counted off, then nodding. "I assume the General and Adel were first, considering they both left early?"

Edward laughed a bit. "You are more than perceptive, Madame Morell."

Elizabeth smiled tightly. "So," She said, her voice perfectly clipped. "What do you need to discuss with me?"

Ciel sighed, a more somber tone entering his voice. "I'm afraid this has to do with Cinder Fall and Arthur Watts. Although I do have something to rely to you regarding Jacques Schnee."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, but then nodded. "Perhaps you should begin with the information relating to Jacques Schnee, considering that I'm sure that will be less difficult to handle or find a solution to."

"It's not a request or anything along those lines, that would be unethical," Ciel said, giving her a sharp look. "Madame Morell, I'm simply informing you personally of information found by the DCCCI so that the security council can more accurately keep an eye on the situation."

Elizabeth ceased her pacing and leaned slightly against her desk. "And that information was…"

"Jacques has been making business deals with a woman in Mistral known as 'Little Miss Malachite' who is a notorious mob boss," Ciel said gravely. "And it seems that he has been using her as a way to gain illegal access to information that he should not have, hence why he was able to evade so many laws instated by the Council for so long. It also seems that he was using her to take advantage of the black market for Dust in order to gain even more money."

Elizabeth stared at him almost incredulously. "Are you serious?"

"Completely," Ciel confirmed. "I'll have the reports forwarded to you, but I think that some sort of research into the background and workings of this woman should be done."

Elizabeth sighed. "I would tend to agree with that. We've actually heard her name before, but it's never been in the context of a larger scheme that affects the broader world outside of a few towns in Mistral."

Ciel nodded. "I understand, forgive me for my interest and concern relating to the topic."

Elizabeth was silent for a moment but then motioned for him to go on. "And the information relating to Fall and Watts?"

"Watts has continued to threaten the Adels and has been confirmed as being behind the attack on Team RWBY during a training mission a few weeks back," Ciel said, and she sighed. "I take it you were already aware of that?"

"Personal connexions to the Adels aside, we've already begun an investigation into Watts and his reasons for being in the kingdom," Elizabeth shook her head. "It seems that he's here for the sole purpose of furthering some asinine goals of his."

Ciel raised an eyebrow. "Salem."

"Pray you can come up with a more probable explanation for the public," Elizabeth replied sharply. "But, yes, that is correct."

Ciel hesitated but then went on. "Cinder is also working with Arthur Watts, something that was confirmed by reports from several specialists to General Ciel."

Elizabeth took in a sharp breath. "I suppose that's not terribly surprising, however dangerous that sort of alliance on their end could prove to be."

"That is especially true, considering that we were able to confirm last week that it was in fact Cinder who orchestrated the Fall Of Beacon Academy," Ciel sighed. "These are dark and dangerous times indeed, Madame Morell, and I am afraid that we are slowly slipping further into that abyss."

She bit her lip, but then nodded. "Aren't we all?" She asked, her voice little more than a whisper.


	42. Chapter 42

_**September 17th  
Schnee Dust Company  
World Headquarters  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
7:14 PM**_

Cristal sighed as she continued to look over the amount of papers on her desk. Marking what she still needed to look over, she began to file the rest. Primarily, she was filing the company files from the last eighteen years in her personal, physical system despite all of the files being preserved in the online system. Trying to clear her mind as she continued with her filing, she couldn't help but hope that the meeting she had with the board of directors that next evening would not be particularly contentious. It made her nervous every time that she was asked a question about her supposed disappearance, and she knew that fear came from the knowledge that her disappearance was a lie. Still, it stung even more to remember that she and Emmett had been dead. Pausing for a moment, she glanced around the office which was more than clearly hers. There was something superficially calming in this, she knew, but in the moment even a superficial sense of calm would help. She closed her eyes, and she pushed up her glasses before ceasing her filing for a moment to begin pacing. She was, however, cut short by the tentative opening of the door and quiet, almost broken voice spoke.

"Cristal?" Willow said as she lingered in the doorway. "Can we talk?"

Cristal hesitated for a moment but then turned towards her sister, her arms crossed. "That depends. You want to attack me over taking my company back from Jacques?"

"No," Willow said, her voice a bit sharper than even she expected. "I want to talk to you because at the end of the day you're still my sister."

Cristal stared at her in surprise. "Oh. Alright then. What do you want to discuss?"

"Well, first off," Willow said, taking a moment to look around the room. "Your renovations turned out better than I thought they would."

"I'm sure Jacques said any number of horrible things about me and what my plans for the company are," Cristal said dryly, and Willow glared. "What? You and I both know –"

"I'm not in the mood for you to be critical of me and my life choices," Willow informed her haughtily. "I don't want to hear it. I understand I've made mistakes with Jacques –"

"If you don't want to talk about it so much then let's not," Cristal said, walking back over to behind her desk and placing her unfiled papers away in her desk drawers. "Let's talk about more pleasant things. God knows I need it, considering that the board of directors is both pissed at Jacques and still getting used to how Emmett and I run things again."

"You say that as if it's a surprise," Emmett said, smirking as he leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed. "You see, Chrissy, a lot has changed since we were last running our family's company."

Willow scowled at him. "Shouldn't you be –"

"I came in exceptionally early this morning, in large part because Emmy had go leave especially early for a five am meeting with the DFAMA," Emmett shrugged. "I left Cassie a note, chocolate, and a reminder to not forget her purse."

"That's an actual concern" Willow raised an eyebrow. "You've got to be joking, Emmett."

"She's spacey, but she's sweet," Emmett said, smiling. "Which makes sense, considering she's my daughter."

Willow gave him a confused look. "Are you saying you're spacey?"

"I don't have a problem admitting to my issues," Emmett said rather nonchalantly. "In fact, I might be a bit _too_ forthcoming with people."

"Seems like a problem that runs in the family," Cristal said, laughing. "Willa, even you have problems with being too clear with people what you mean. You can't stand leaving anything ambiguous."

Willow hesitated for a moment, but then sighed. "I suppose that is not entirely untrue."

"You just like to repress yourself," Cristal noted. "You always have, and it's because you are uncomfortable with –"

"Don't say it," Willow said softly. "Please, Cristal, don't say it."

Cristal shrugged. "You know what we're all thinking anyways."

"Nothing's ever been right, not for us," Willow said sadly. "You know what we were all like when we were growing up."

Cristal snorted. "God, that's an easy one. I was a bitch that rubbed who she was and everything she had going for her in everyone's face, Emmett –"

"Yeah, I know," He said. "I was, and still am, overly flamboyant with my personality."

"And Ashlynn…" Willow shook her head, tears rising in her eyes as she thought of her estranged sister. "She and I were perfectionists like all four of us were, but it led me into self loathing, and it led her to insanity."

"Frankly, I don't think insanity quite covers it," Emmett said, and Willow looked at him in surprise. "If only because of the damage she's caused to so many people. Lizzie, Emmy and Cas…"

"It wasn't easy on father either," Willow admitted. "Especially since she finally lost her grip and slipped into whatever the hell she does with and for Salem about a year before he died."

"To be honest," Cristal said slowly, her heels clicking as she began to pace about her office once more. "I'm worried about my family, Oz, and our baby…but I'm also worried about everything else. Really, I'm starting to feel like over the years the Schnee family has just caused a lot of issues because of their own struggles. Ashlynn…or Cinder…she's no exception. Neither are we."

"We're better than her," Willow said with more conviction that she truly felt. "After all, we're not killers."

"Of course we're not," Cristal said. "But is basic human decency really how low our expectations have fallen? We don't expect more?"

Emmett shook his head. "Our family name – and all of us – have really fallen from grace, hasn't it?"

Cristal bit her lip, but then nodded. "Still, I wish that wasn't so."

Willow laughed bitterly. "Don't we all, at this point?"

* * *

Michael closed the door behind himself as he stepped into the room with Emmeline. "Sounded like this must be a big deal if you needed to speak to both of us, Madame Morell."

Elizabeth scowled at her husband. "Commander Morell, if you keep insisting calling each other by titles in personal conversation I think I might lose my touch in politics."

Michael laughed. "Funny, Lizzie."

"I take it this has to do with the information the entire higher order DFAMA received this morning?" Emmeline asked her, and she nodded once. "I was shocked they tracked her down."

"Maybe I shouldn't have used my position to get her tracked down," Elizabeth said, leaning against her desk and trying to force herself to relax the visible tension in her shoulders. "But I did because she's dangerous, she's a threat –"

"And none of us really know how she managed to get back into the kingdom," Emmeline added. "I thought we'd been keeping an eye out for her at every point of entry."

"Cinder's ability to disguise herself is unparalleled," Elizabeth reminded her. "How else did she manage to threaten you and your daughter for so long?"

Emmeline sighed. "I know that the attack on Team RWBY occurred back in August, but it is still pertinent for us to discuss it."

Michael nodded. "That's especially true, considering that Xiao Long is still recovering from her injuries, while Schnee was lucky to be alive when we consider hers."

"What I want to know regarding that is how deep Cinder and Watts' connexion to each other is, especially since it can be noticed very clearly in these events," Elizabeth remarked, and Emmeline nodded. "There is evidence that the two of them have worked together, historically, haven't they?"

"Yes," Emmeline confirmed, pulling out her scroll and glancing through new reports relating to both cases. "But we're definitely going to keep tabs on both of them as closely as we can. I don't care what we have to do, the Council – and therefore all of us and the security council – will know the locations of Watts and Cinder at all times. That's going to go for when they're out of the kingdom too. Besides, we're already doing that."

"To be honest, though," Elizabeth said, running a hand through her long, thick black hair. "I'm not going to feel safe until both of them, although particularly Cinder, are behind bars."

"We can all agree with that," Emmeline said, crossing her arms. "Considering the danger that both of them pose to all of us, and to the kingdom as a whole."

"The Adels, I'm sure, are more concerned," Michael said, and Elizabeth and Emmeline nodded. "The threats they've received recently, I'm sure, are no help to that."

"All of this is an incredibly dangerous game," Elizabeth said, starting to pace. "Yes, we are going to get what we want and need for national – and, admittedly, personal – security in the end but that does not mean that what we have to do for that isn't dangerous."

"That's especially true now," Emmeline said, placing her scroll back in her pocket. "Since Jacques has claimed, in both writing and in verbal testimony, that he has information that could be useful relating to Watts."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "As if Jacques really has information. He's probably just playing any cards he can to get a lesser sentence now that he's been indicted for multiple crimes that have to potential to throw him in jail for the rest of his life."

"He's afraid, yes," Emmeline agreed. "But both Kiara and Karissa say that it doesn't seem that he's lying and that, if he is, then he's damned himself. They're hearing him out on the eighth of October."

"A few weeks, not unreasonable," Elizabeth said, her heels continuing to click against the floor. "Still, aren't they giving him time to formulate a probable lie? Especially since he's got ties with that mob boss in Mistral, 'Little Miss Malachite.'"

"That is a concern, I agree," Emmeline said slowly. "But it's still procedure."

"I know," Elizabeth said, sighing. "And I more than agree with upholding that, I'm just growing tired of hearing about lead after lead or event after event that seems to lead credence to what ends up being nothing."

"It's incredibly frustrating," Michael said, hesitating for a moment but then embracing his wife. "For all of us. Blake's been pissed off by this more than I think anyone else has. What I was surprised by was that he called Ciel out to his face in a meeting for giving false hope."

"We've all called my father out on that," Emmeline reminded him, giving him a pointed look. "Blake isn't the first, and he's certainly not going to be the last."

"I don't blame Ciel that heavily for everything that's been going on," Elizabeth said, and Michael and Emmeline nodded. "We all know that it's easy to lead in times of peace, but in times of war…"

"We're not at war with any of the other kingdoms," Emmeline said, then pausing for a moment. "But the war with Salem is finally starting to have an affect on the rest of the world too."

"What's dangerous about that is how we all know her views on humanity," Michael said, releasing his wife and sharing a look with both women. "And how her goal seems to be to snuff out the hope in order to –"

"Divide them, tear them apart," Elizabeth said softly, quoting the motives Kiara Davis had first suggested years ago. "Sever their trust, it will strangle their hearts. Inside them, plant seeds of doubt. The hope will be smothered, they'll turn on each other, hatred will sprout in suspicion and doubt – friendships deny, all allegiances die."

Emmeline raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes, Lizzie, your photographic memory is creepy."

"I know," Elizabeth said, rubbing her neck. "Sometimes, my memory scares me too."

"We all have moments like that," Michael said gently. "Believe me, amongst all of us, your problems are normal."

"But has anything really been normal in the last twenty years?" Emmeline questioned, then shaking her head. "Maybe we have all been living a lie…"

* * *

"Weiss, you were only released a week ago," Winter said, giving her sister a look of concern as the two of them walked through the courtyard of Atlas Academy. "Really, you don't want to strain yourself."

"I don't see how returning to active combat training so soon is straining myself," Weiss returned, and Winter raised an eyebrow. "Winter, I just want to get everything in my life back to normal."

"I know you do, and I want that for you," Winter said, pausing for a moment but then beginning to walk again with her sister following. "But you're going to endanger yourself more if you don't take the proper time to heal."

"Yeah," Weiss said, then sighing. "I don't know, maybe it has something to do with our childhood."

"I would tend to believe that, yes," Winter agreed, her hands clasped firmly behind her back. "It, at the very least, didn't help the way he always expected us to be perfectly up to his standards, perfectly right in the high society he had married his way into, and it definitely didn't help in the way that he treated us and mother all while treating Whitley like a prince."

"For a time, he might have been one," Weiss shook her head. "Whitley was the heir to the SDC for several months, so he was basically a prince."

"The heir to nine billion dollars worth of Dust and Dust trade," Winter murmured, stopping and placing a hand on her sister's shoulder. "I know it was hard for you when he disinherited you. I wish I had been able to do more to help you through at the time."

"You've done more than enough," Weiss said, tightly embracing her sister. "Really. I don't know what I would do without you as my sister."

Winter smiled. "I try my best, Weiss, I really do."

"...Chrissy, you're going to be fine," Glynda said, drawing the attention of both Winter and Weiss to the other end of the courtyard where the small white haired woman and the tall blonde woman were speaking. "...Look, you yourself admitted that you just left work two hours ago, and you've been up since -"

"...I know I was up early, but I couldn't sleep," Cristal said, probing her forehead. "...I'm still worried about my baby -"

"...You're three months pregnant," Glynda reminded her, glancing around the darkened grounds where the primary lights were from street lamps. "...And your baby is fine, you even said so. The ultrasounds have been fine, the -"

"...I know," Cristal said, sighing. "...But with everything that has happened it seems like it's all going to hell and, on top of that, I feel like I'm going to be a horrible mother -"

"...And you think I'm not worried about that?" Glynda questioned. "...I'm due with twins in mid December, and -"

"...In every aspect of my life except for that relating to my child, I am more than confident!" Cristal exclaimed, then sighing heavily. "...In my job, in dealing with the council, in literally everything except for this I've always felt perfectly confident and for some reason I just don't with this!"

"...None of us do," Glynda informed her, crossing her arms. "...Look, Chrissy, this is stressful for everyone. You can ask Lizzie, you can ask your sister, you can ask your mother, and hell you can and maybe even should ask Emmeline. Look, just promise me that you're going to talk to Emmeline? I know you're scared, but I'm sure she is too. Especially since she's -"

"...I know," Cristal said softly. "...I just feel like everything's going to hell."

"Weiss, come on," Winter said, taking her sister by the arm and pulling her through the courtyard and up towards the stairs leading to one of the sets of living quarters on campus. "Please don't let on that we heard that."

"Of course not," Weiss said, then staring at her sister. "Winter, are you alright?"

"Nothing," Winter said, then sighing. "Alright, fine, Weiss. You really want me to be more open with you?"

Wesis gave her sister a funny look but then nodded. "Winter, what is it?"

Winter hesitated for a moment. "Weiss," She said slowly. "Is it bad that I'm nervous about marrying Qrow in December?"

"Of course not," Weiss said sympathetically. "This is new for you, and you've never opened yourself up to someone like that before now. But he loves you, and I'm sure it's going to be alright."

"I love him," Winter said, rubbing her neck. "But I'm still worried about what might happen to our relationship."

"Considering what happened with our parents, I get that," Weiss said, then hesitating. "But Qrow's not like that. He can be kind of an ass, but he's a good person."

"I know that," Winter snapped, then calming herself. "Weiss, I don't want to end up like either of our parents."

"You won't," Weiss assured her. "After all, you're stronger than either of them ever have been or ever would be."

"I think," Winter said slowly. "That what you're saying isn't just true for me, it's true for both of us."


	43. Chapter 43

_**September 21st  
Location: 17 Miles From The City Limits  
United Kingdom Of Atlas  
1984 Production Services  
Status: Abandoned  
Inner Location: Warehouse  
6:34 PM**_

"What do you do when it's just not enough to just be you…" Cinder mused as her glass heels tapped against the concrete floor. "You steal the 'me' that you want to be…"

"Can you not quote ridiculous villains from cinema?" Watts asked her irritably as he stood up, one hand behind his back and the other at his side. "Or is it in your nature to be overtly -"

"Quiet," Cinder snapped, turning towards him. "How many times do I have to specifically tell you that I not need your input on any of these matters?"

Watts scowled at her. "Without me, you would be lost. Do not forget that Salem will not take you back into the fold until you have proven yourself worthy. I am only working with you because it benefits me within this kingdom, and also because Salem has asked me…to keep an eye on you."

Cinder's amber eyes flared dangerously. "I do _not_ need a babysitter." She snarled.

Watts laughed. "That is not what Salem thinks."

Cinder summoned a small flame in the palm of her hand, activating her maiden powers. "Well, then I'll prove her wrong."

Watts barely dodged out of the way as she threw it into a nearby metal slab which resisted the flame. "Are you trying to get us killed or found?"

Cinder scoffed. "As if we'll be found here. This plant hasn't been used to process even a _Cristal_ of Dust in years."

Watts raised an eyebrow. "Any particular reason you emphasized the word 'crystal'?"

"That was not what I was referring to, however true that may be," She snapped. "I am referring to Cristal, my sister."

Watts rolled his eyes. "And, of course, you want to waste time tormenting her in the way you have spent years wasting time tormenting Emmeline Ciel and her daughter."

"Speaking of Emmeline Ciel…" Cinder said, her voice becoming increasingly dark. "I believe my brother has been back for quite some time with her. Enough for, if you look around enough to find the information, them to conceive another child."

Watts groaned. "Cinder, I do not give even half a damn about your desire to murder your entire family."

Cinder looked affronted. "I do not want to murder my entire family. My niece, Casseia, I happen to care about like my own daughter."

"Pfft," He said, resisting the urge to laugh at her words. "Cinder, we all know full well that the one thing in this world that you care about in any way akin to love is power."

She clenched her fists. "If you want to criticize me for my love for power and my disregard for family as a result, then perhaps I should remind you that you are a man who abused both your daughter and wife, justified it by saying they had deserved it, and then, years after you and your wife divorced, torment and threaten your daughter and her family because it makes you feel like you have control over your family and –"

"You don't understand what it requires to be a parent or a spouse, especially one that can better their child or their spouse," Watts snapped, and Cinder burst out into almost maniacal laughter. "Oh, what is it now? You've had an epiphany?"

Cinder shrugged. "Something of that nature. After all, your views, while not how my parents treated each other or any of their four kids, reflect the volatile nature of my parents' marriage. They may not have tried to control each other, but they certainly didn't get along all that well."

"And it's a wonder you ended up the way you have," Watts replied. "Ridiculous and so bent on power and vengeance that you let your grudge with a fucking child almost kill you."

Cinder set her hands to her hips but then hopped up onto a nearby platform, and then up to several others. Scowling at him with her eyes almost as narrow as they possibly could be, she sat down on the edge of the platform and crossed her legs at the knee. A silence passed for a long moment, the two of them in a seeming stalemate; neither had any more moves against the other, or so it had seemed. It was not until she summoned an obsidian glass sword into her hands and engulfed it in flames that he began to feel the slightest twinge of fear. In that moment, he cursed himself for not killing the red headed girl when he had attacked her team – for he believed that Cinder would think higher of him if he had done away the girl she despised. What he didn't know, was that her feelings were the opposite although he would be relieved, in what would be sooner than expected, to never have to find out.

"Emerald!" Cinder finally shouted. "Mercury! Both of you, get in here!"

Within a few seconds, both the young green haired woman and the young silver haired man came into the room whilst Watts snickered at their complacency.

"It seems the two of you really do have no spines of your own," He remarked, earning himself a glare from Emerald. "It was a mere observation, don't take it so personally."

"You act as if I am above slitting your throat," She said, venom lacing her voice. "You annoy all of us enough that I'm sure that no one could possibly begrudge us that."

"Salem, I imagine, would have quite a few problems with that," Watts sneered at her. "After all, we all know that if we turn on each other we are inhibiting her goals, i.e. her ability to achieve her ends."

Mercury tensed. "We all know better than that, and Cinder –"

"Cinder is, at the moment, out of Salem's favour," Watts reminded them, and Emerald flinched. "So –"

"Shut up," Cinder hissed, summoning yet another ball of fire in her hand. "Unless, of course, you have some sort of ridiculous desire for your life to be ended."

Watts stepped aside as she hopped down and stepped forward. "Of course," He said half heartedly. "How silly of me."

"I know that Salem isn't happy with me," Cinder said, her heels clicking menacingly against the ground. "But I will regain her favour soon, that is not going to be a problem. But, for what power I lack at the moment from her, I am still not one for you to cross. I am the way you, my underlings, will reach your desires but if you put those before my own then they will be lost to you. I will personally ensure that."

"The irony, dear Cinder," Watts said, not even flinching this time when she sent him a harsh glare. "Is that Salem said the exact same thing that you just did to us. And we are not your underlings, we are all, for lack of a better term, Salem's underlings – her highest operatives. _Your_ underlings are the members of the White Fang that are not loyal to Taurus, which is a surprising amount of them because of his fleeing."

"Adam Taurus is basically the ruthless dictator of Menagerie," Cinder snapped. "He is not an underling of mine, he is a powerful ally, albeit one that I may eventually have to kill if he gets in the way of my –"

"What are you really after?" Watts questioned her. "It can't just be power, Cinder. There's something else there. Vengeance, perhaps?"

"And what do I have to get vengeance for?" She countered. "The only person I wish to exact revenge on is Ruby Rose, but if she had just stayed out of my way then I wouldn't want to have anything to with her – I wouldn't give a damn about her."

"Ah, but you do," Watts clicked his tongue. "How beneath you, Cinder."

Cinder crossed her arms. "My revenge on Ruby Rose will eventually kill her, but I have a better way to cause her pain. I realised that after what Raven almost did to me at Haven. I will pick off those she cares about one by one going from those she cares about the most to those she cares about the least. Starting with Jaune Arc."

"Jaune?" Mercury gave her a funny luck. "Why him?"

"Because he's basically useless, and his death will sting her," Cinder replied, giving him a sharp look and causing him to back down immediately. "But it will not sting as much as the death of her partner and one of my other nieces – Weiss Schnee. I will pick them off one by one, and each death will only hurt even more. Qrow Branwen's, I imagine, will hurt the entire group Ozpin has put to stand against us the worst, and he will be the last of them I kill before Ruby Rose herself."

* * *

"I know that full well, thank you," General Ciel said, giving Blake a pointed look as she paced. "This is a serious issue –"

"Watts –" Blake started.

"We know," Karissa said, running a hand through her deep azure curls. "But this situation has to be handled delicately or he'll slip through our fingers once again."

"Both him and Cinder," Kiara added. "Considering that the two of them are working together."

"The Council is keeping permanent tabs on them," Blake reminded them. "Why can't we just go in and arrest them? They've committed more than enough crimes to be convicted, and therefore it's not, by any means, uncalled for if we arrest them and bring them to court."

"He's right," Elizabeth said, and Emmeline sighed. "But I do agree that we can't just go in and immediately try and arrest them. They both are excellent at disguising themselves, their skills as criminals are unparalleled, and, frankly, doing so could make us look more as the aggressors than them."

"Damn it, she's right," Kiara said, then shaking her head. "Madame Morell, do you have to always make things more complicated?"

"I shed light on the complications of issues," Elizabeth informed her, adjusting her high bun. "I don't make them more complicated."

"What the hell are we going to do?" Blake looked at all of them. "We're in a dangerous situation, we're dealing with the fact that both Cinder and Watts are clearly plotting something, and, on top of that, with Jacques Gelè-Schnee claiming to have information on Watts…"

"He could very well be lying," Elizabeth pointed out, but Kiara shook her head. "Your reasoning, Davis?"

Kiara sighed. "For all his faults, Jacques is not an idiot. He's an ass, he's manipulative, but he is not stupid. He knows better than to implicate himself in further crimes by lying to the Council."

"True as that may be," Elizabeth said, her natural cynicism laced throughout her voice. "Even if he's not lying, he's still trying to get a lesser sentence. Unless he provides information that is actually useful in taking down Watts, then I would not recommend reducing whatever prison sentence or sentences that are given to him by the courts."

"That's fair," Blake agreed, looking to Emmeline. "Do you agree, General Ciel?"

"Yes, I do," She said carefully. "Especially considering the circumstances and the amount of charges brought against him over the last few months. Jacques has been spending the last twenty years manipulating people in business in order to get his way – even to gaining 'rights' the Schnee Dust Company when he had no legal standing in which to do so. I regret that the Council played a part in facilitating that in the sense that we did not hold a throughout investigation to find both Emmett and Cristal Schnee."

"I would tend to agree with that," Winchester said, his voice clipped. "Particularly when we consider the fact we all but left them to die in Mistral."

"I will be the first to admit that we, and the entire council, have made mistakes that we should take responsibility for," Elizabeth said, standing up and beginning to pace. "But that does not mean the we should dwell on the past. We have a responsibility, now, to fix what we've done wrong make better the current situations we're being presented with."

"And that includes not living a lie," Winchester said sharply, looking primarily at Blake. "Meaning that we do not delude ourselves into thinking we have a right to do whatever we want if it is supposedly in the name of national defense."

"We are all very much aware of that, thank you, Winchester," Elizabeth said sharply, then motioning to Kiara. "I believe your department has been in contact with the DCCCI in order to deal with the connexion that has become clear between the Mistrali mob boss by the pseudonym of 'Little Miss Malachite' and Jacques Gelè-Schnee?"

Kiara nodded. "Yes, and some interesting information relating to 'Little Miss Malachite' has arisen already."

Emmeline raised an eyebrow. "Are you in a position in which you are allowed to elaborate upon that, Davis?"

"Yes," Kiara said, then docking her scroll into the system and projecting several recent images captured of Malachite. "You see, one of the reports we received indicates that 'Little Miss Malachite' may have had something to do with Cinder Fall getting back into the kingdom."

"What?" Blake said, raising an eyebrow as he leaned forward and scrutinized the images. "You're joking, aren't you?"

Kiara shook her head, motioning towards the projected images. "These images show her, albeit a few months prior, speaking with Fall in a tavern from which Malachite performed most of her business out of. There are also images of Malachite speaking with a woman known as 'Neo'."

"Neo?" Emmeline asked her, raising an eyebrow. "Referring to Neopolitan Jadeson?"

Kiara sighed. "Yes, and it has also been assumed that Malachite has had a part in getting Fall back into the kingdom of Atlas, in part, because of a fight which occurred between Neo and Fall. The fight concluded in Neo defenestrating Fall. All we know after that is a rather large sum of lien being transferred to Malachite from Fall, resulting in transport tickets to the kingdom of Atlas."

"You have got to be kidding me," Elizabeth said, looking at the images sharply and then shaking her head. "Good lord, this is a mess we've gotten ourselves into."

"I agree," Karissa said, tapping her nails against the table. "Now, with this information in hand, have we a plan to at least begin dealing with these issues?"

"Yes," Elizabeth said, crossing her arms and ceasing her pacing. "General Ciel, would you care to explain?"

Emmeline nodded as Kiara allowed her to project her own information. "For one, we are keeping our tabs on them and we are also going to be finding a way to track their information and communications via scrolls. This might be a bit easier, at least regarding Watts, considering that he was the one whose scroll had been used to implant the 'Red Queen' virus into the system in order to aid in the orchestration of the Fall Of Beacon Academy."

"Which is yet another thing we have against him," Blake said darkly. "Especially with the levels of destruction which the Fall caused for not just the Academy, but for the entire kingdom of Vale. The capital city was seriously damaged, government functions were shut down for several months, a few Valerians engaged in acts of terrorism against Atlas –"

"Adel," Winchester said sharply. "Do not mistake your personal desire for vengeance against Watts as justified because of events which he had a strong hand in orchestrating –"

"My personal issues with Watts," Blake started irritably, flinching as he stood up because of the way he was pressing his hands into the table and subsequently tensing both of his shoulders. "Have nothing to do with my condemnation of him for things that have nothing to do with the threats he has made and, in a few rare cases, acted upon against me and my wife. Personal history aside, Watts is a threat to the security of the kingdom of Atlas that must be dealt with and I am fully confident that we are doing what we must even if I maintain that we ought to be doing more."

The room was silent for a long moment until Karissa spoke.

"Blake," She said, stepping aside from formalities for a brief moment. "Please do not stress yourself to the point of further injury of that left shoulder of yours. You know full well that the gunshot wound there has never fully healed and isn't going to because of the way –"

"Speaking of gunshot wounds induced by Arthur Watts," Elizabeth said sharply. "Because of the incident with Miss Schnee and Miss Xiao Long both being shot by Watts back in late August, Atlas Academy has suspended all training missions for the rest of this year's term, which ends at the end of November. However, we are supposed to decide within the next few weeks whether or not we recommend allowing training missions to commence as usual once term starts again in early March."

"I would support that motion," Kiara said calmly, setting her hands on the table and resting one over the other. "If only because we can't justify keeping the Academy open and funded by the Council if we're not allowing training missions."

"She's right," Blake said, sighing. "As dangerous as, perhaps, it is, isn't being a huntsman or huntress dangerous by its very nature? I understand why we had to take a step back and recuperate in this situation, but we can't justify training the students of the Academies for what the world isn't really like, then we're not training huntsmen and huntresses, nor are we training future specialists or members of the military."

"That is all true," Elizabeth said, nodding and looking to all of them. "And I agree with that position, we can't hide from the reality of the world forever nor should we hide it from those training to fight the dangers of the world."

"Of course," Emmeline said, sharing a long look with her before going on. "But now we are all faced with the choice to face the reality ourselves. After all, our world isn't going to be getting any brighter."

Kiara glanced down at her hands and nodded sadly. "Amen to that…"


	44. Chapter 44

_**October 8th  
Location: Unknown  
8:12 PM**_

Salem continued to stare into her seer, her long nails tapping against the table in the meeting room within her domain. The man she had killed more than once flashed before her eyes – Ozpin. Shaking her head as she saw him tightly embrace Cristal Schnee, she snapped her fingers to order her sight through the creature to change once more. Simply seeing the man was enough to rekindle the loathing she had for him, the loathing she had for him because it was him that had damned her to immortality at the hands of the gods. Pausing for a moment as the image began to clear to the inside of a grungy warehouse, she waved her hand twice to slam the doors to the hall shut and to prevent unnecessary interruptions. Tyrion and Hazel knew better than to enter the room uninvited unless something pressing was occurring, and she had others to be concerned with. As she turned back to the seer, she began to focus on listening to and watching her disgraced prodigy and the disgraced scientist.

"…I told you," Cinder growled as she continued to circle Watts. "…That with Jacques Schnee's…hearing of sorts being today that we have to move. We'll be damned if he –"

"…I highly doubt that Jacques even remembers this dinky old place," Watts said snippily. "…And if he does, well the young ones are keeping –"

"…Just because Emerald and Mercury are keeping an eye on the Atlesian news does not mean that something like Jacques revealing our location, however inadvertently, to the Council would be made public!" Cinder shook her head in irritation. "…We're taking a risk we shouldn't be taking by continuing to remain here –"

"…We can leave in a few days," Watts snapped. "…Once we've gotten everything together. There's an old metropolitan train system that goes from here to one of the cities further north. We're midway up the eastern coast of the kingdom since we're so close to the capital –"

"…I'm Atlesian by birth too, Arthur," Cinder matched his tone perfectly. "…There's no need to be condescending with me, so don't you dare try to insult my intelligence over this."

"…What I was saying," He said, sending her a harsh glare. "…Was that if we move a bit further north up through the metropolitan train system, we can leave in two days and be in the City Of New Fen in a day after that."

Cinder considered that. "…New Fen has a higher population than the City Of Atlas, though."

"…So?" Watts said, looking at her in exasperation. "…Why do you want to stay here in the City Of Atlas so badly when it's putting us in danger?"

"…I want to stay in the City Of Atlas because it gives us the highest chance of being able to bring down a few of the more…shall we say important members of Ozpin's group," Cinder laughed a bit, but then narrowed her amber eyes at him and ceased her movements to cross her arms. "…I believe Qrow Branwen is marrying one of my nieces on the fifth of December. The Ciels, the Schnees…not to mention the Adels and the Morells…well, they're all going to be there now aren't they? And those teenagers too."

Watts rolled his eyes. "…I know full well what you're getting at."

"…We should leave this particular location," Cinder said, then gesturing to their surroundings. "…After all, I think we would all prefer something a bit more glamourous."

Watts shook his head. "…If you're suggesting we attempt to take an upscale apartment in the city –"

"…Of course not," Cinder said, a small smile creeping onto her lips. "…That would be counterproductive and neither you nor I want to end up back in jail. After all, the last time I was in prison it was because I murdered Karissa Mar's sister, Caria Mar, who had been an incredibly accomplished federal investigator. But, because of Tyrion and Torchwick, I was able to escape after just a few weeks of being detained. A year later I caused the Fall Of Beacon, didn't I?"

Watts took a step towards her menacingly. "…You're taking more risks than have ever been prudent, Cinder."

"…And I'm giving you time to hack into the computer systems and data bases of the Atlesian Council," Cinder replied, a smile gracing her face as she began to slip away and her hand grazed his shoulder for a brief moment. "…You did it once at Beacon, I think we can do it again."

Salem dismissed her seer as she watched Cinder walk away. "So…" She mused, her dark nails tapping against the top of the table once more. "You do have a plan, and if it goes well…maybe you will have redeemed yourself…"

"Your Grace!" An almost maniacal voice exclaimed near breathlessly from the doorway. "I believe that we might have a chance to finally do away with Qrow Branwen!"

Salem raised an eyebrow as she motioned him into the room, slamming the heavy doors behind him. "I know that he is one of the people that we are trying to see dead, but I'm not sure now is the best time to do so. It might interfere…with some of our other plans."

"But what if it happens in several, several weeks from now?" Tyrion asked her, and she raised an eyebrow. "Your Grace, he is going to be marrying an Atlesian military officer in early December and quite a few of the _other_ people we want dead will be there. Including Ozpin."

Salem considered that, recalling what Cinder and Watts had discussed. "Are you suggesting attacking the wedding?"

"I'm suggesting a few of us…take out a few of the people at the reception," Tyrion laughed. "I could do so with Cinder, Watts, Emerald, and Mercury. They _are_ all in Atlas right now anyways…"

Salem's eyes narrowed. "We have plans to attack Atlas Academy directly in a year, and you're suggesting we risk losing that chance over a few of our enemies?"

Tyrion took a hesitant step backwards. "Your Grace –"

"Go to Atlas," She told him, her voice laced in its silky, imperious tone. "But if you fail under Watts and Cinder, there will be consequences for you. All of you."

* * *

"Jacques Louis Gelè-Schnee, aged fifty six years old, former chief executive official and chairman of the board of directors of the Schnee Dust Company, brought before the Atlesian Department Of Justice upon his own request," Leanne Tanner paced as she continued to address the room. "Claiming that he has pertinent information relating to the hunt for Dr. Arthur Watts but also relating to some of the 'mysterious' funding that Watts had received over the years for his unethical experiments relating, predominantly, to auras. Schnee, your statements?"

Jacques pursed his lips and scowled at Tanner. "Are you attempting to defame the man who is trying to help you?"

"Schnee, if this is a ploy in order to, perhaps, weasel your way into a lower prison sentence then I can assure that no one in this room has anything against recommending that you not receive a lower prison sentence," Tanner narrowed her eyes, ceasing her pacing and looking directly at him. "Now, do you truly have any pertinent information relating to the quote un quote mysterious funding that Dr. Arthur Watts received for his unethical experiments over the years?"

Jacques matched her gaze and nodded curtly. "Yes, I do have information of such a nature."

"Do elaborate," Kiara Davis said, a pen in her hand and hovering over the papers on her clipboard. "For example, did Dr. Watts ever tell you exactly what the funds which he received from you were for?"

Jacques raised an eyebrow. "Madame Davis, what exactly do you mean by that?"

"I mean," Kiara said, sharing a look with Tanner. "Were you aware of the purpose of the funds, from Watts' paradigm?"

Jacques shook his head. "Terribly sorry to disappoint you, Madame Davis, but at the time I was not aware of what I was facilitating."

"How?" Tanner asked him, skepticism lacing her voice. "How is it possible that you were not aware, at the time, of what you were, in your words, facilitating yet you know it now?"

Jacques leaned forward, his eyes continuing to narrow. "I knew only the basics, that is to say, that it was a scientific endeavour that, supposedly, was to bring forth greater understanding of auras, semblances, and the general human condition. It was not until three years later that I learned that the project had been to cross the genetics of a human being with that of a grimm, nor was I aware that it had also resulted in the creation of technology that could alter the aura and semblance. Although if your real issue is with the alteration of aura and semblance, then I direct you and your colleagues to the so called aura cuffs. If I am not mistaken, the council created them under the direction of the DLNLE, which I believe you head."

Tanner took in a sharp breath, her spine stiffening. "The relevance of that is null and void."

"I argue not," Jacques replied. "Considering that your department, the Department Of Local And National Law Enforcement, ordered the creation of cuffs which could inhibited, i.e. prevent, the usage of aura and semblances by captured criminals and that they could only be removed if one was wearing a specific glove that interacted with the technology concealed within the cuff. Furthermore, the Department Of Scientific Advancement And Ethical Oversight, or the DSAEO, only recently had to come forward and take responsibility for over a decade's worth of work in creating technology which could capture aura from one and place in something or someone else. I do wish to know how Watts' work in altering auras and semblances is worse than that?"

Kiara Davis gave Tanner a sharp look, but then stood up herself. "If you insist upon going down that 'rabbit hole' then you should know that consent of those in the experiments is the difference although the majority of the Council, including myself, found the experiments to be highly unethical and only barely within the legal code."

Jacques scoffed. "Madame Davis, the Atlesian Council is no stranger to violating its own ethics laws. Sixty years ago, the Atlesian government engaged in genetic experiments on human beings in order to –"

"We are very much aware of the follies of our government," Tanner said sharply. "Thank you for reminding us. Now, do you have anything else which might be helpful in the case regarding Dr. Arthur Watts?"

Jacques nodded. "A few more things, yes, Miss Tanner."

Leanne crossed her arms. "And what might those be?"

"I transferred the empty warehouse of the 1984 Production Services, which had been an independent Dust refinement warehouse that I used during the first five years in which I had been running the Schnee Dust Company," Jacques said, and the room went completely silent – even Kiara's nervous foot tapping ceased. "The warehouse has not be in usage since I sold it to him, but he always had set aside a quite a bit of money and supplies into maintaining its structure and interior. The last time that I spoke to him, which was six months ago, he had approximately five million lien set aside in cash."

"In cash?" Davis raised an eyebrow. "How in god's name did he manage that?"

"He'd been siphoning it from his accounts in Mistral beginning ten years ago," Jacques replied. "And slowly been bringing the funds into the kingdom of Atlas."

Kiara took furious note of that, but then nodded. "Anything else?"

"Watts has kept eerie records on his daughter, Allison Caroline Adel, for the last thirty years," Jacques said, and Tanner sighed, relieved that Blake Adel was not in this hearing. "And he has kept tabs on the entire Adel family since she married Blake Adel."

Davis sighed. "We are aware of that, or at least had assumed that he kept highly detailed records on the family. How else would he have been able to continuously threaten them as he does?"

Jacques nodded. "Whether or not you believe I am sincere in this, I do believe that this is a tragedy for all of us. I am not the only one who has lost things here, but you should all be counting your lucky stars that I was the one who could provide you this information without issuing a subpoena."

"This meeting has come to an end," Tanner said sharply, then motioning several young officers towards Jacques. "Take him away."

* * *

"Something," Elizabeth said, setting down her wine slowly. "Does not seem right about this."

"I agree," Cristal said, crossing her arms. "Especially considering that Jacques so willingly gave up the information he did."

"It _is_ a classic technique for someone in his position," Blake said, and she sighed. "To provide the Council with evidence that damns or implicates someone much more wanted for much higher crimes than them. Seems like Jacques does understand basic legal theory, but only in circumstances that could get him lesser prison time."

"I'm still not quite sure if I'm ever going to get comfortable sharing classified information like this with the group," Elizabeth admitted, rubbing her neck. "As much as I trust all of you, and as relevant as all of this is to what we're dealing with when it comes to Salem…"

"It's still criminal espionage," Cristal said, sending her a sympathetic look as she adjusted her glasses. "I get it, this doesn't feel right even though you're not doing it for the reasons that anybody else would commit criminal espionage."

"There's a reason there's a rule I have with both my kids that what is said at home, if it sounds like it could be at all not within the realm of public information, does not leave the house," Elizabeth sighed as she went on. "The main reason for that rule is because of how damn perceptive and resourceful my kids are."

"It's not a bad thing," Michael reminded her, and she scowled. "Lizzie, I know this isn't easy for you but it's been fine before."

"It's just starting to get to me, that's all," She said, biting her lip even as he wrapped an arm around her and gave her a gentle squeeze. "Probably because Cinder's back in the kingdom."

"It's more concerning that she and my father are working together, though," Allison pointed out, then giving Blake a sharp look. "And don't you dare risk hurting yourself because you're trying to protect me."

Blake hesitated, but instead of nodding pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. "If it'll make you feel better, Allie, I won't risk harm over this."

"Besides the point is that you won't need to," Emmeline reminded him. "Since we've got some of our specialists monitoring him and the situation."

"I know," Blake said, flinching as he attempted to roll his left shoulder. "But that doesn't negate the fact that both Watts and Cinder are immense threats to security. Thank god Jacques didn't try lying to the DOJ or, more specifically, Tanner and Davis."

"He was still a pain in the ass about it, so I heard," Emmeline glanced at her scroll upon receiving a message from Emmett. "I can't believe the hearing finished an hour ago."

"It's just past eleven in the evening," Elizabeth sent a cursory glance towards the clock. "No one wants to stay up that late for a hearing, much less if they work for the Council. Most days we start work at nine in the morning and leave at seven in the evening."

Emmeline rolled her eyes. "You really do enjoy knowing everything, don't you?"

"I don't know everything," Elizabeth replied. "I wish, though."

"You'd scare us all if you knew everything," Michael remarked, kissing her cheek. "Considering that you already have more information than most people in the kingdom ever will because you're the chair of the security council."

Elizabeth shrugged. "Look, the point is that we've all got difficult decisions to make regarding our work. I'm sure it's not easy for Chrissy to share some of the private information she has in the SDC records."

"Of course it's not easy," Cristal said, twisting her long white curls in her hands. "But there are still some things I've had to share with you. Hell, I pulled some of the records between Watts and Jacques and sent them to Blake who sent it down the proper chain at the DOJ."

"It was a bit jarring to see actual communications between the two men," Blake admitted. "But, at the end of the day, Jacques is lucky that there are records that can back up the things that he might have claimed today."

"Well," Emmeline said slowly. "He did claim that he'd sold an old warehouse of production company he'd liquidated to Watts. Not before trying to condemn the Council, but I wasn't surprised to hear that he had tried to blame the Council or at least gain traction for a lesser sentence because of the perceived duplicity."

"Not that the Council hasn't been hypocritical in the past," Elizabeth said, sipping her wine once more. "But, in these circumstances, it wasn't relevant or helping his case. By my reckoning, it was probably a way to kill time before he was forced to clearly take one side or another."

"Sounds about right," Allison considered it for a moment but then shook her head. "Do you think there might have been something else behind him revealing what he did?"

"If he was still working for Watts, he wouldn't have said anything," Cristal said, glancing to Elizabeth who nodded. "Especially since he knows that lying could get him sent to prison for all but the rest of his life. If he was working for Watts…well then he wouldn't have let on that he knew even a shred of information and it would have taken much longer for a connexion to be drawn between them."

"What I want to know is why Cinder and Watts are back in the kingdom," Emmeline said, tapping her foot anxiously. "In the last few weeks, they haven't so much as threatened any of us. The last threats any of received from them were from back in mid September."

"That is a bit odd, I'll admit," Michael sighed. "I'm sure they're trying to play it low, either that or they're plotting something bigger."

"And what would that be?" Elizabeth questioned. "An attack directly on the Council? Or Atlas Academy?"

"That depends," Blake said, sharing a look with Allison. "What do you think, Allie?"

"Knowing my father," She said, the faintest bit of anger lacing her voice. "I wouldn't be surprised if there was something else behind this."

"Salem's always pulling the strings," Emmeline reminded her. "I'm sure –"

"No," Cristal said softly, anxiety starting to rise in her. "It's got to be something else. After all, why else would they waste any time not taking shots at all of us?"


	45. Chapter 45

_**October 19th  
Atlas Academy  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
1:34 PM**_

"At least, for the kingdoms of Atlas and Vale, the spike in commercial Dust trade after the Great War was beneficial for the majority of the residents of the kingdom," Professor Cerise Mar sent the class of second years a sharp look. "But that does not mean that everyone benefitted, nor does it mean that the residents of other kingdoms benefitted. In Vacuo, for example, the rise of what is approximated to be seventy seven autonomous communities has led to great political instability even with the government Council presiding over the entire nation officially. In Mistral, there are forty eight of these communities, some of which are far larger than others and –"

The bell ran as the clock finally passed from 1:34 PM to 1:35 PM, and Mar sighed as she motioned for them to head to study hall.

"We'll finish this discussion next class," She informed them, not even noticing as Ruby giddily stood up and tossed a completely compacted Crescent Rose into the air and caught it perfectly in her left.

"Free time!" Ruby exclaimed, then tightly embracing her teammates. "Can you believe that –"

"Are y'all okay?" A high voice asked, raising an eyebrow, crossing her arms, and blowing on her blunt bangs. "Or do you need to take a pill to calm down?"

Yang rolled her eyes. "You got contacts."

"Yeah," Caitlin said with a smirk. "You can really tell how damn green my eyes are."

"Cute," Cas said, punching her shoulder. "So, do you guys want to hang out?"

Weiss scowled as she and her teammates came over to them. "Don't you two have your own classes?"

"We have the day off," Cas reminded her. "Because the first quarter ended? Today's a work day for the teachers."

Weiss sighed. "Of course you two get the day off when we don't."

"Hey, y'all have study hall right now," Caitlin laughed as Ruby messed up her hair. "That's not funny, Rubes."

"Oh, it kinda is," Ruby said, giggling. "So, anyone got anything they wanna talk about?"

"The fact that it's chilly out?" Caitlin suggested, tugging on sparkling, cream lace sleeves of her high collared top and then tugging on the upward curving hem of plunging vest. "Because I grew up in this kingdom, albeit further south, and I still find it cold."

"Didn't you also live further north for a bit too?" Blake gave her a quizzical look. "How are you so sensitive to the cold?"

"Because she's a little bean," Cas said, coughing and adjusting her glasses as Caitlin sent her glare. "I know you know that. You're 5'3'', you're a tiny woman albeit you have an hourglass figure and -"

"Cas!" Caitlin exclaimed, turning pink.

"Hey," Yang said, punching her shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with having boobs like mine."

Caitlin turned even more pink. "You're all embarrassing me…"

"Well, let's talk about something that's not embarrassing," Ruby suggested. "How about –"

"I heard something I probably shouldn't have last night," Caitlin said, then covering her mouth when she realised that hadn't been what she'd wanted to say. "I –"

"Relating to what?" Weiss asked her, an eyebrow raised. "I know that Elizabeth and Michael both have access to –"

"My dad's been out of town since the thirteenth," Caitlin reminded her, crossing her arms. "Okay? And, before you ask, yeah, my dad's out of town a lot. But the point is, last night I overheard my mom talking with Emmeline about the testimony Jacques gave to the DOJ. Turns out he might very well…that he might very well get the lesser prison sentence he wanted. His lawyers are pushing for it because of what the Council was able to gain from his cooperation."

Cas scoffed. "They're being soft with him."

Caitlin shrugged. "He's going to be in prison for ten years either way before they even have parole hearings."

Blake shook her head. "After what he's done to the faunus, to humans too, he deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison."

"You really think he's going to do shit after he gets out?" Caitlin countered, and Blake raised an eyebrow. "He's going to be around sixty six or sixty seven by the time they release him if he does get parole after ten years, and a man like him at that age is just going to want to take the money he has left and live out the rest of his days somewhere far away. It's not like people around here are going to show him much sympathy, he's screwed over enough people as it is."

Blake sighed. "I know that, but still."

"I'm not trying to be pessimistic," Caitlin informed her as they continued to walk. "I'm trying to be realistic, something that I think our world seems to be lacking."

"What do you mean?" Ruby sent her a quizzical look. "I thought –"

"Ruby, do you really think that we're realistic in our…" Caitlin spoke a bit quieter as she went on. "In our plans to defeat Salem? Do you really think that we can even defeat her?"

"Of course we can," Ruby said, an edge of concern entering her voice. "Caitlin, what's bothering you?"

"What's bothering me," She said, stopping and crossing her arms. "Is that Ozpin doesn't tell us what he should, he thinks he's keeping us on a 'need to know' basis but he's really just trying to distance himself as much as possible. He claims he has a plan, he's articulated one, but I'm skeptical that he could carry it out."

"You sound like your mother," Weiss said, scoffing. "A damn cynic in everything."

"And you're not cynical?" Caitlin replied, her green eyes narrowing. "Don't pin this on me."

"Ruby's still more right than you," Weiss snapped. "You've never even been out there, fighting. I almost died –"

"You act like I don't –" Caitlin started.

"You don't understand," Weiss said, shaking her head. "And you're not going to understand unless you stop being one step removed from all this. Cas too."

Cas scowled. "I'm just as close to this issue as you are."

"As if," Weiss said. "Do you have any idea –"

"Weiss –" Ruby started in concern.

"Yes, we're in danger, and, yes, not everything is what it seems," Weiss said stubbornly. "But you know what? Even if this is pointless, at least we're doing something, at least we're not being like everyone on the Council and all the adults in the group except for Ozpin who seem to just want to handle all this like it's a simple foreign affairs issue."

"Where's all this coming from?" Caitlin asked, a challenge edging in her voice. "Because, I get it Weiss. I'm sorry about your life, and you have had it pretty rough. Your whole life you've been bending over backwards but you've never been good enough. But that doesn't make you –"

"Shut up!" Weiss shrieked. "You don't understand!"

Caitlin sighed, and then shook her head sadly. "No, I understand more than I'd ever care to admit…"

* * *

"Dad, I fear now that there's not much left that we can do to ensure anyone's safety, much less the safety of those in the field," Emmeline said, continuing to pace even as Emmett watched her in concern. "Look, with everything that has happened, I agree that those provinces in Vacuo, Mistral, and Vale aren't safe anymore but we can't retract everyone from there."

"…Emmeline, we either have to focus on internal security or alliances," Ciel sighed heavily. "…I don't like having to choose, but I have chosen internal security and you're not going to change my mind on the subject."

"By letting alliances, we are not only losing access to things within the realm of our interests, but we are playing into _her_ hand," Emmeline paused for a moment before going on. "And no matter the case, that's never in our interest."

"…We are not playing into Salem's hand," Ciel said sharply. "…Emmeline, I am simply informing you –"

"You are risking –" She started.

"…Emmeline," Ciel said, his voice taking on even further sharpness. "…As much as I trust you and your judgement, I have weighed the situation carefully and pulling back quite a few units in those provinces is not going to have the overarching change you think it will. If the grimm populations rise in those areas, the effect will likely be minimal because, at the end of the day, few people live there. It's not playing into Salem's hand, and I would appreciate it if you would keep your personal issues out of this."

"My personal issues?" Emmeline exclaimed in outrage. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"…Emmeline, you and I both know that it would have been more prudent to leave the group when you accepted the position of general," Ciel said firmly. "…Not because I disagree with Ozpin, frankly I think he's doing what's right, but because of the influence it has on Atlesian policy."

"Have you given this lecture to Lizzie, or to Kiara, or to James?" Emmeline challenged. "Well?"

"…Emmeline," Ciel said, calming himself rather than snapping at her. "…Take a moment to relax, and we'll discuss this later. For now, we need not dwell on this."

Emmeline glared at her scroll as her father hung up before she could respond. All but slamming it down onto a charging dock in the living room, she crossed her arms as she started to pace. "He's being ridiculous."

"This is why you don't work with your parents," Emmett said, grimacing a bit when she scowled at him. "Emmy, look, I know you and your father are in disagreement, but he's trying to be reasonable –"

"He's trying to play both sides," She replied, and Emmett shrugged. "How is that not an issue?"

"It is," Emmett admitted. "But it's not damning at the moment."

"True," Emmeline said, then shaking her head. "Maybe I do need to step back from this for a little."

"A lot's happened," He said gently, hesitating for a moment but then coming over to her and embracing her tightly. "And I know you've been up late most nights the last few weeks because of all the work you've had to do. I can't blame you for being stressed."

She gently rested her head on his shoulder. "I know there isn't a simple solution to all of this, I just…maybe I feel like I can find one even where it doesn't exist."

Emmett pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "It's going to be fine, Emmy. Besides, you're not the only one who's stressed. Chrissy and I have had a lot to deal with too, and the reacting to governmental policy from the DFACR and the DFAMA in running the SDC has always been a lot."

"You're handling have a lot better than I am," She said, and he shook his head. "What?"

"That's not fair at all," Emmett said, pressing a gentle hand to her slight curve. "I'm sure the baby isn't always helping you out either."

"To be honest," Emmeline said softly. "Knowing that the baby's okay in spite of all the shit we've had to deal with is actually very comforting for me."

"I'm sure it will love you," Emmett said, continuing to hold her close. "Just like Cas and I do."

"This is one of the reasons why I missed you…" She murmured. "No matter how hard I try, no matter how well I managed it with Cas, I can't be strong all the time, and when my emotional struggles get to me…"

"I'm here now," Emmett reminded her gently. "And I'm never going to leave you."

Emmeline sighed. "Emmett, I –"

"I swear to god," Cristal said as she stormed into the room. "If anything else happens, this world is going to end in fire and flame."

"Aren't those things the same?" Emmeline sent her a pointed look. "You okay?"

Cristal scowled. "Sure."

"Chrissy?" Ozpin said, stepping into the room and looking at his wife worriedly. "What is it?"

"Well," She said, slipping off her heels and casting them aside haphazardly. "It's a damn good thing that I had to leave work early at noon for my four month check in."

"The baby's okay, isn't it?" Ozpin asked her, his brown eyes wide behind his glasses. "Chrissy –"

"Yes, the baby's okay," She said, adjusting her glasses with her hands shaking. "But…but I…"

"Chrissy, what happened?" Emmett looked at his sister, his brow furrowed. "You seem keyed up."

"Of course I am!" She exclaimed, then pressing a hand to her forehead. "Look…just as I was packing up my things to leave for my check in…she…Ashlynn came into my office."

Ozpin looked at her in horror but then quickly came over to her and brought her into his arms. "Oh my god. You're alright, aren't you Chrissy?"

She sighed heavily but nodded. "She didn't _do_ anything, but she did talk at me for five minutes and then told me that she has no qualms against hurting our family if that's what it comes down to…"

"She's been threatening me and Cas since Cas was a baby," Emmeline told her, and Cristal bit her lip. "It's just empty threats, she's trying to scare you."

"I'm not so sure…" Cristal said nervously. "She's ruthless, she orchestrated what happened at Beacon –"

"Chrissy," Ozpin said gently, cupping her cheek. "We can deal with all of this when and if she acts on everything. Our baby is going to be okay, our family is going to be okay, and things will get better."

She hesitated but then nodded. "I hope so…"

"It will be," He promised her. "The only thing we really need to be afraid of is living our lives filled with fear, because, if we do that, then things are never going to get any better…"

* * *

"Of course…" Winter said, scowling at the information on her computer. "Down another rabbit hole once again…"

"Schnee?" A voice asked from the doorway. "You doing alright?"

Winter looked up almost immediately. "Madame Davis –"

"I know it's a lot of information, but you've done quite a bit of good work with Valerian ties to issues like this," Kiara said, stepping into the room. "At the very least, I thought putting your eyes to it could glean something that we might have missed. After all, there are quite a few Valerian groups that were always closer to Arthur Watts than any of us cared to recognise."

Winter stared her for a moment. "Madame Davis, it seems more like these groups have been helping him get in and out of the kingdom than anything else."

"That's what I thought," Kiara admitted. "But I wasn't sure. I'm still not but hearing it from you does make me feel less crazy. Although what a Valerian company like Merlot Industries would want with Watts is beyond me, even with Dr. Merlot's contributions to the Mountain Glenn disaster in his poor security."

"I think…" Winter said slowly. "Permission to speak freely, Madame Davis?"

Kiara raised an eyebrow but then nodded. "Of course, Schnee."

"If we look at the events that occurred at Mountain Glenn twenty years ago through the lens of the knowledge of Watts' ties, then we can draw, perhaps, a connexion between Watts' creation of the apathy grimm in Mistral to the work of Merlot in Vale," Winter said, and Kiara's eyes went wide in surprise. "From that perspective, it's plausible that Watts was working with Merlot in order to create the apathy while Merlot was working to manipulate grimm within the Mountain Glenn settlement so that they could become more deferential to us."

Kiara considered that for a moment. "We would have to pull communication records to prove that hypothesis, not to mention track down Merlot and subpoena testimony from him on the matter."

"Do you think that could, perhaps, be a necessary measure in gaining better control and understanding of the situation with Watts and, of course, Cinder?" Winter questioned, and Kiara hesitated. "Or do you think it would be another dead end?"

"It could go either way," Kiara eventually said. "But, with your permission, I'd like you to write up a statement on that subject, forward it to me, and allow me to present it to the Council in the form of a proposal for a plan to deal with these matters."

Winter nodded. "What's the timeframe in which you want this done?"

"By the end of the month," Kiara told her, and Winter nodded. "I'd like the Council to be able to look over this as soon as November begins."

Winter glanced at the date in the corner of her computer's screen. "So you're saying I have just under two weeks to complete this?"

"Yes," Kiara said, her heels clicking as she headed for the door. "I don't doubt you can handle this, Schnee."

"Thank you, Madame Davis," Winter said, sighing as the woman left the room.

Closing her eyes for a brief moment, Winter probed her forehead as she tried to gather her thoughts. With everything feeling as if it was happening at warp speed, she knew that she needed a second to breathe. Trying to force her thoughts away from work for even a few seconds, she considered what she still had to plan for her wedding. Emmeline had forwarded her images of her hair all the way up and styled, images which still surprised her in how different they seemed from her typical, no nonsense bun. The dress, too, had been brought in the other day and was being kept in its bag in the apartment, hanging in her closet and already paid for by Allison who had been more than happy to cover it for her – something Winter suspected in large part was her way of giving her a leg up while also covering whatever she had intended to give her for her wedding. Nevertheless, there was still planning to do and she couldn't help but debate with herself whether or not to have the wedding in Atlas or in Vale. While Qrow had said that he wanted her to choose, she was torn. In large part, she imagined, this had to do with her issues with her own family but she tried her best to deny the brokenness with which she was bound to.

"Win?" Qrow said, tapping his knuckles against the door frame. "You busy?"

"Not busy enough," She replied, shutting her laptop. "Although I just got assigned a major report for Madame Davis that's due by the thirty first of October."

"She wants it that soon?" Qrow raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What does Kiara need that so soon for?"

"Classified work with the Council," Winter replied, and he sighed but then nodded. "I thought you weren't getting back from your mission for another few days."

"Things wrapped early in Vale," He said, shrugging as he entered the room and came over to her desk. "I thought I'd rather see you sooner than stay there."

She smiled a small bit. "Are you trying to flatter me?"

"Am I not allowed to flatter my fiancé?" He teased, and she playfully swatted his arm. "I see my Ice Queen is still sharp."

"You didn't expect me to go soft, did you?" She asked, and he didn't reply and rather pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "Qrow…"

"Yeah, yeah I know you're at work," He said, pulling away slightly. "But, still."

"Can't help it?" She smirked a bit. "Later, okay? I had no idea you were going to be back so soon."

"Based on the looks of things, it's a damn good thing that I am," Qrow shook his head as he went on. "As it turns out, Atlas Academy has been ordered by the Department Of Education to begin training missions once more."

"I thought that there weren't going to be any more training missions until the beginning of next year's term in March," Winter said, then sighing. "But why is that concerning?"

"One of the missions that is being offered is to Beacon," Qrow said, and Winter stared. "To assess how much more work needs to be done to complete repairing the damages and whether or not the school will be able to reopen."

"Weiss and her teammates signed up for that, didn't they?" Winter bit her lip when he nodded. "Of course they did. Did General Ironwood approve it?"

"He's considering it, at least that's what he told me," Qrow said, then laughing humourlessly for a brief moment. "But he also said that he needs to discuss it with them before he can make a final decision."

Winter sighed as she stood up. "A mission like that could go wrong in so many more ways than just one."

"I know," Qrow said, a tinge of sadness in his voice. "But in the end, it's up to them. All I can hope is that nothing happens to them."

"Isn't that all we can hope for?" She questioned. "Isn't hope all we've really got left with most things these days?"


	46. Chapter 46

_**November 1st  
Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council  
Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action  
Atlesian National Security Council  
Security Level: Maximum  
Necessary Security Clearance: Maximum  
3:46 PM**_

"This is an interesting perspective," Elizabeth said as she glanced through the pages of the report once more. "But, in order to prove this, we'd need to get Dr. Merlot into the kingdom of Atlas and detained until he gave his testimony under oath to the Council."

"The first thing we'd do would track him down, then subpoena testimony from him," Kiara said, and Elizabeth raised an eyebrow but then nodded. "At the end of the day, we could gain quite a bit of information from him."

"And it's not as if Jacques was able to give us too much more than we already knew," Leanne added. "I think we can all agree that Merlot could, because of his more direct connexion to Watts, provide more valuable information."

"True as that may be," Elizabeth said, giving her a pointed look. "How exactly are we going to manage to track down Dr. Merlot, considering the man has been in hiding for the last twenty years? I seriously doubt that he hasn't been moving around, and his communications records could be highly misleading if those records even exist at all."

"Actually," Blake said slowly. "Quite a few people on the Valerian Council think he may never have left Mountain Glenn at all."

"If that were true, wouldn't Team RWBY and Dr. Oobleck have stumbled upon him during their...mission there?" Elizabeth sighed. "Or, on a more sinister note, Roman Torchwick, the White Fang, or anyone else who had been in that site? We know now that Torchwick and the White Fang had been down in Mountain Glenn for a few months, how is it that wouldn't have stumbled upon him?"

"That's a good point," Emmeline said, and Kiara bit her lip. "Especially since the only resources available were in those tunnels."

"We should still, at the very least, request that the Valerian Council pull all of Merlot's communications records from the last score and send them to Atlas," Karissa said, and Kiara nodded curtly. "I wouldn't want to go looking for him anywhere until we had some form of a tangible lead."

"That's fair, and twenty years worth of information should be enough to bring something forward," Kiara said, then hesitating for a moment. "But we can all agree that it's unlikely Watts and Merlot didn't have a serious connexion?"

"Of course," Elizabeth said, glancing back at the report once more. "Some of the records we have here in Atlas regarding Watts show that he was in fact in frequent communication with Merlot - particularly around the creation of the apathy grimm in Mistral."

Karissa raised an eyebrow. "The apathy? I thought that was still considered to be a myth, that we hadn't found enough evidence to prove one way or another that Watts had succeeded in creating it. His notes from that time show he was working to, but we actually found it?"

"Yes," Emmeline said with a heavy sigh. "There's only a small cluster of them, thankfully, but that small cluster was enough to wipe out an entire settlement in northern Mistral."

"That's damn horrifying," Blake remarked dryly. "And when you say 'small cluster' do you mean -"

"About a hundred of them exist which, compared to other species of grimm, is markedly small," Emmeline said, and he nodded. "But we learned just last year that the then mysterious 'Brunswick Farms' murders were not done by any human hand, and this was found not only by a small group of investigators that had gone down there but in the...written records of the community."

Kiara grimaced. "The people knew about it?"

"They more than knew about it," Elizabeth said darkly. "One of them, who didn't know he was striking a deal with Watts, had help dragging them to the wells under the settlement. The grimm doesn't just kill, it makes its prey easy to kill."

"They also make any number of fictional monsters or characters look tame," Emmeline said, sharing a knowing look with Elizabeth. "Considering that they look almost like distorted cadavers."

Karissa took in a sharp breath but then forced herself to calm down. "That's...I'm sure...traumatising. Sounds like the monster that lives under the bed."

Blake's eyes went wide as he looked at a blurry photograph of one from the Council's records. Setting down his scroll, he nodded. "Alright, yep, I'm never going to sleep again."

"The irony in that," Kiara said slowly. "Is that they suck the life out of people while they're asleep and they feed on the energy that gives us the will to resist before they kill. If the victim was conscious, it'd likely be a slow and painful death. I imagine it would be similar to drowning."

"That's a terrifying thought," Leanne commented, showing Karissa the same photograph Blake had been looking at on his scroll. "If you ever see anything vaguely like that, run like hell."

Karissa looked almost sick. "Oh god."

"And this is why all of us stay out of sketchy parts of Mistral," Elizabeth said, pushing the report to the side. "Not only because our security details and clearances prevent us from going to those places."

"Either way," Kiara said, looking through some of the records relating to Watts and Merlot Industries. "We have to focus on one thing at a time, and dealing with Watts and Cinder is at the top of that list. With the direct link between Merlot industries and Watts, I think it's safe to assume that we need to track down Merlot and question him about his work."

A heavy silence passed, but then Emmeline nodded.

"Alright," She said. "But we're going to start by having the Valerian Council transfer its data records on Merlot as well as the last known locations he has been in the last twenty years."

"I suppose it's finally time we hear what that man has to say for himself," Blake said, and Elizabeth sighed. "After all, he's never answered, truly, for anything he's done."

"That's an understatement," Elizabeth muttered, then probing her forehead. "But who's to say he'll even try to cooperate with us? It's not as if men like him have a high code of ethics, after all."

* * *

"Chrissy?" Allison said as she stepped into her office. "Can we talk?"

Cristal set aside her computer and files and then nodded. "Sure, what is it Allie?"

Allison delicately closed the door and was silent for a long moment. "How angry are you going to get if I ask you to pull a few strings my husband won't?"

Cristal raised an eyebrow. "If this has anything to do with your father -"

"Chrissy -" Allison started.

"I can't -" Cristal said as gently as she could. "Allie, I just -"

The door opened suddenly, and both women tensed.

"Oh!" An all too familiar voice said, slamming the door behind her with a glint in her amber eyes. "I have to say, this might have been the best -"

"How the hell did you -" Cristal stared at the amber eyed woman, her own grey eyes wide behind her glasses and betraying her attempts to appear calm. "I -"

"Oh, you can't blame anyone for not fighting me," Cinder said, giving her sister a falsely sympathetic look. "After all, I look different in this."

Allison narrowed her eyes as she saw the woman pull a blonde wig out of her bag. "You really think -"

"You Atlesians care so damn much about IDs," She said, pulling a forged one out of her bag. "And, since I used to be amongst you…"

Cristal scowled at her as she reached for her scroll. "If you think -"

"You're not calling security," Cinder said, activating her powers as the Fall Maiden for a moment in which she shattered Cristal's phone in her hand. "No, sister, we need to talk about your allegiances."

"Actually," Cristal said, her voice shaking against her will. "Why don't we talk about yours? For instance, what the hell happened to you?"

"A lot can happen in eighteen years," Cinder replied. "You wouldn't know, though, considering that you were dead."

Cristal bit her lip. "Was I?"

"You don't have to pretend," Cinder said, stepping towards her sister but not before using her powers to bind Allison's hands together. "And don't worry about that, Watts, I'll take those off later."

Allison glared at her and tried to fight the binds. "It's _Adel_ , and -"

"Sure, that's your married name," Cinder shrugged as she turned to face her for a moment. "But without Blake Adel and his love for you, you would still be Allison Watts."

"Allison _Canson_ ," She spat. "I had my mother's name -"

"After that rather messy divorce," Cinder remarked. "Until you were twelve years old -"

"Shut up!" Allison shrieked. "Just -"

"Speaking of your father, though," Cinder said, giving her a look of false pity. "He does still want to...deal with your husband since Adel really is the only thing standing in between you and fighting for the right side of all this."

"My father," Allison hissed. "Is the reason my husband has lost nearly all usage of his left shoulder and it makes using the rest of his left arm that much harder."

Cinder shrugged. "He's still alive for now, revel in that."

"What the hell do you want? Cristal demanded, standing up to her full height which, even in heels, was unimpressive. "To -"

"Cristal," Cinder said, motioning for her sister to sit down. "Don't stress yourself out, it's not as if it could be good for your baby."

"What is your -" Cristal started, but Cinder cut her off by placing a surprisingly warm hand over hers.

"Cristal," She said gently. "I don't want to hurt you, but you and I both know that Ozpin isn't...you know that he's never going to be able to be a good husband to you, or a good father to your child while things are like this. He can't defeat Salem, and that's what would -"

"Stop it," Cristal said, snatching her hand away from her. "You don't have to -"

"I've made my choice," Cinder said, then shaking her head ruefully. "I suppose you and Miss Watts, sorry, Adel, have done the same."

Allison reached out to tackle her as the woman released her binds upon leaving the room but she was off by about three inches and, instead, her heels slipped and she hit the floor rather hard.

"Al!" Cristal exclaimed in horror, coming over to her and helping her up as best she could. "Are you -"

"That doesn't feel good," Allison groaned as she steadied herself against her. "Chrissy, how can you tell if you've bruised a rib?"

Cristal stared at her for a moment, but then sighed. "Al -"

"Just…" Allison grimaced as she sat down on the small sofa in the room and pulled out her scroll. "Can you call Blake and tell him I think we need to -"

"Alright," Cristal hesitantly took her scroll from her and called Blake. "Al, do you really think that -"

"I don't have access to my aura or semblance like the rest of you do," She reminded her, flinching as she brushed a finger over a spot just under her breasts. "Damn it.."

"Allie?" Blake said over the line. "You okay, I just got out of a meeting."

"It's Cristal," She told him, and there was a lengthy silence. "Blake -"

"What happened?" He asked her, a bit of panic rising in his voice. "Is Allie okay?"

"Look," Cristal said as calmly as she could. "Ashlynn - Cinder - showed up here again and as she was leaving Al tried to -"

"What she do to her?" Blake asked, his voice shaking. "Is she -"

"She thinks she bruised a rib, considering how hard she hit the floor," Cristal said, and Blake took in a sharp breath. "Blake -"

"I'll be there soon," He said. "Can I talk to Allie really quick, though?"

Cristal sighed as she passed Allison her scroll. "He's worried about you, in case you couldn't tell."

Allison bit her lip. "Blake?"

"Oh thank god you're okay," He said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Or at least that you're okay enough to talk."

"Blake, I'm in a lot of pain and I don't…" Allison grimaced as she tried sit a bit more comfortably. "It's a lot to…"

"I promise I'll be there soon, sweetheart," Blake said, his voice gentle and affectionate. "And if anything's wrong, I'll make sure something gets done to make sure it gets better."

She glanced to Cristal for a moment, but then sighed. "Okay…"

* * *

"The four of you want to see the state of Beacon and analyse it?" James gave all four members of Team RWBY a sharp look. "You are aware that not only is the site still more dangerous than almost anywhere else you could go is, aren't you?"

Ruby bit her lip. "Well, yeah, but we thought that, since, we were at Beacon before the Fall that we might be in a better position to assess the damage and what still needs to be done."

"True as that may be," James said slowly. "Who would be willing to take you? No one here wants to, and getting support from the Council for a group of second years would be nearly impossible."

"Classic Atlesian elitism…" Blake muttered, scowling at Weiss when she sharply elbowed her. "What?"

"Uncle Qrow could," Yang said, shrugging. "And then you don't have to worry about the Council or anything else."

James hesitated. "Qrow? Really, Qrow?"

Ruby nodded. "He's experienced, he went to Beacon, and is a professor at Signal Academy."

"I know that," James said, starting to pace. "But that doesn't mean he's the most responsible. He tends to break contact, he has a penchant for getting himself into trouble, and it worries me that he tends to do a lot of things without thinking."

"Uncle Qrow's not that bad," Yang said stubbornly, crossing her arms. "And we've done things without thinking too."

"Yes, and that's caused the four of you quite a bit of pain and damage," James said, pausing for a moment upon realising how harsh his words perhaps sounded to them. "If you're going to do this, it needs to be with a responsible adult."

Yang started furiously messaging on her scroll while the other shared long looks with each other.

"What exactly qualifies someone as a 'responsible adult'?" Blake asked, an eyebrow raised. "If you're expecting someone like Madame Morell, then you'll be hard pressed to find a huntsman of that level of seriousness and calm."

"I am not saying that," James said, and Blake glanced to Weiss. "What I'm saying is that the four of you need someone who can manage to keep an eye on you while also ensuring that things go as smoothly as possible."

"What if Winter went with us?" Weiss suggested, her voice spiking a bit higher than usual. "I'm sure that my sister counts as under your definition of a 'responsible adult'. Doesn't she?"

"I can't pull Winter from her other missions for the purpose of sending the four of you to Vale for a few days, even if this is a week or two from now," James hesitated for a moment before going on. "Although, I suppose that considering his training as a huntsman, maybe I could request that Blake Adel accompany the four of you for a few days to Beacon. That is, of course, only if he's willing. If not, this mission will probably be reassigned to one of the -"

"How am I not a 'responsible adult'?" Qrow demanded upon stepping into the room. "And you're lucky that I was on campus because I was trying to find my daughter so I could have a chance to talk to her about the mission she, my niece, and two of their closest friends signed up for just under two weeks ago!"

James sighed heavily. "Qrow -"

"Yang says you don't think that I'm responsible enough to take them on a mission," Qrow snapped. "I am responsible, you just -"

"Qrow, under what circumstances have you been truly responsible, responsible enough to keep an eye on four young students to one of the most dangerous places in the world at the current moment?" James questioned, and Qrow groaned. "Qrow if you want to do this, you're going to have to promise and actually remain in contact as well as -"

"James, you don't have to be paranoid," Qrow said, crossing his arms and glancing to his daughter and his niece. "For god's sake, I'm a fully trained huntsman and, when it reopens in March, I'm a professor at Signal Academy!"

"I know that," James said, giving him an irritated look. "But things are different in Atlas than they are in Vale, and the process in Atlas is a bit more intense than in -"

"I know that," Qrow said with a scowl. "But there's nothing that precludes me from accompanying them on this mission."

"Your drinking habits -" James started.

"Oh, shut up," Qrow snapped again, then calming himself. "I'm not that bad, don't you even dare -"

"Fine," James said, knowing full well that the man wouldn't drop the matter as he logged the information into the system. "But if something goes wrong and there's another accident, it's on you."

Qrow scoffed. "If there was another accident, it wouldn't be on me it'd be on the kingdom that has the best ability to protect all of us and yet cares more about its own interests than anything else."

"The kingdom of Atlas doesn't have allies, it has interests," Blake said under her breath, repeating what Caitlin had repeated from her own mother. "As always."

"Look, nothing horrible is going to happen," Qrow said, rolling his eyes and acting overconfident for the purpose of shielding himself. "And, once we're there, Port and Oobleck will be there as well and so the -"

"Alright, I already said it's fine," James said in exasperation. "Just drop it."

Qrow sighed. "Sometimes, James, I think I'm getting the hang of working with you and then there are times when I realise that day will probably never come, at least not any time soon."


	47. Chapter 47

_**November 13th  
Beacon Academy  
City Of Vale  
Vale  
Downtown  
8:31 PM**_

"Oh my god…" Ruby stared at the sight of Beacon as she, her teammates, and Qrow stepped off of the transport. "I thought that more of it would have been done."

"It looks like the structural fixes have been done," Blake said, trying to be optimistic. "But…"

"You'd be surprised how hard it is to get funding from the Valerian Council," Qrow said, stepping to the front of the group with one hand on Harbinger. "And, as much as it sucks, that's what we need. They've already put eight million lien into the structural repairs and the beginnings of the aesthetic ones. Believe me, they don't want to put much more in."

"Why?" Weiss asked, shivering a bit as the wind blew a bit harshly whilst they continued to walk down the main pathway of Beacon Academy. "And if the Valerian Council can't come up with the money, why don't they ask the other kingdoms?"

Qrow snorted. "You really think Atlas would help the Valerian Council in this situation?"

Weiss scowled. "You know full well that if he could that General Ironwood would help persuade the Council to help, right?"

Qrow shrugged. "Jimmy would recuse himself from the matter if it came to that since his wife is the headmistress here."

"Oh…" Ruby said, biting at her lip. "You really think that, dad?"

"I know that," Qrow said, glancing around the scene. "And I'm just trying to be realistic."

"We all are," Yang said, flinching as they heard a grimm caw in the distance. "Are those anywhere near us?"

"No," Qrow said, although he was tense as well. "But if we'd been here a few months ago, they would have been much closer. Hell, a few of them would have been on the grounds."

"That's a scary thought," Blake remarked, pressing her cat ears into her head to protect them from the cold. "It's safe to go into the building?"

"Completely," Qrow replied, pushing open the doors to the main part of the academy. "Port and Oobleck have been -"

"Living out of the auditorium," Port said, adjusting his weapon in his hand. "Barty's out getting more supplies from within the city, but I can show the five of you around."

Qrow nodded and they all began to follow him down the corridor. "I take it you've heard about all the things that have happened in the last few months?"

"Ozpin's alive, for one," Port said knowledgeably, gesturing to the open doors of unused but repaired classrooms and offices. "And that, based on what Glynda said, he used the Relic Of Creation to revive Cristal and Emmett Schnee. I take it Emmeline was shocked?"

"Everyone was," Qrow said, rubbing his neck as they continued to walk through the familiar albeit darkened halls of Beacon. "But, yeah, Emmeline was shocked. Lost her stately composure that's been worked into her since she was a kid, I'd bet."

"Don't be too hard on her," Port said a bit reproachfully. "She's gone through a lot, we all have."

"Speaking of that," Qrow said, pausing for a moment but then shaking his head. "I didn't know Oz told you about all that with the group."

"He did, but only shortly before the Fall," Port replied. "As for news, I also heard that Cinder and Watts are back in Atlas."

"And wreaking hell," Blake muttered.

"That might be an understatement," Qrow said, giving her a sharp look. "Considering everything."

"Well, they've attacked us personally, they've gone after the Adels," Yang spoke bitterly as she crossed her arms. "And not to mention all the shit between Cinder and the Schnees."

"It's a damn shame what happened to Cinder," Port said, sighing as he went on. "Eighteen years ago, you four would have met a very different woman. Ashlynn Schnee, who became Cinder, was troubled but she wasn't inherently bad - she simply had a lust for power which, as it happened, consumed her."

Qrow snorted. "I ain't that much younger than she is now, and I did know her to an extent. She was always a bit screwed in the head."

"That's not particularly fair," Port remarked. "But, considering the way things turned out, it may very well be accurate."

Weiss scowled as they stepped back out into the cold to walk across the courtyard to the dormitories. "She's not a real Schnee."

"Hate to break it to you, but in the biological sense she is," Qrow took a sip from his flask as he continued to speak. "Your father, Jacques, ain't a real Schnee but she is."

"No, she's not," Weiss said, her voice low and taking on a dangerous edge. "There is nothing that she has in common with the rest of us -"

"Except for being Nicholas and Victoria Schnee's biological child, i.e, your aunt," Qrow replied sharply. "I don't like her, and I think she and your father are both horrible but you can't deny the fact that you're related to her any more than I can deny being related to Raven."

"Well, mom -" Yang started.

"Look," Qrow said, giving them all a pointed look as they entered the first level of the dormitory building. "As much as someone may not _feel_ like family, at the end of the day you can't change the fact that they are."

Ruby bit her lip. "Dad, are you sure you're alright?"

"Don't worry about it, Ruby," He said, sighing as he glanced around. "Damn, this is all too familiar."

"We've gotten the least amount of aesthetic repair done in this part of the academy, although the aesthetic repairs to Beacon Tower, despite it being back online, also need to be done," Port said, pausing at the stairwell. "And we've done our best to return things to the way they were before the Fall."

"Sure," Yang said, shivering a bit in spite of herself. "But that isn't going to change what happened, the fact that none of us are the same anymore because of it."

Ruby looked at her in concern. "Yang -"

"I don't want to hear it," She said, looking around with tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "I can handle myself, Rubes."

"To be honest," Port began ruefully. "If we don't get more funding from the Council by March, then we're going to have to shut down. Things are not in a good place, and they will never be the same."

"But that doesn't mean we can't try!" Ruby said, trying her best to be encouraging to both her father and her teammates. "We can do this if we're really trying, I know we can. We've done harder things, after all! Who's to say we can't conquer this?"

"Depends on who you ask," Qrow said, running a hand through his messy hair. "With everything that's happened, I think disenchantment is a common thread."

"Oh…" Ruby said, then forcing herself to be perky in spite of herself. "But that doesn't mean we're not going to win! We will come out on top, I know we will. We have to…"

* * *

"Kiara, I know this is bad," Elizabeth said as her heels continued to click against the floor. "And I know that it doesn't seem -"

"Liz," Kiara said as calmly as she could. "How is it not a disaster that Cinder slipped through our fingers again?"

Elizabeth sighed. "I never said that it's not a disaster, and what she did to -"

"Allison Adel's rib is still bruised from that…" Kiara trailed off, attempting for a moment to bite her tongue but then deciding not to. "From that bitch knocking her to the ground. If she'd done much more, she would have knocked her unconscious."

"I know," Elizabeth said, pausing for a moment as she glanced to the door. "But this has to be handled delicately because if we're not careful the two of them will manage to get away again."

Kiara was silent for a moment, but then nodded. "That's fair, and at least you're calm, unlike Blake."

"Oh god," Elizabeth said, then shaking her head. "He has every right to be scared, but I can also imagine that, based on the last few meetings we've had with the security council -"

"He's in the same state as all of us, just more forthcoming about it," Kiara finished. "Not that he isn't typically like that, but right now it seems that he's more scared."

"We all are," Elizabeth reminded her. "It's worrying enough that the two of them can manage to get into the kingdom, let alone manage to get into the Schnee Dust Company headquarters up to even -"

"Liz…" Kiara said, glancing to where Elizabeth's scroll lay on the countertop. "What the hell is your scroll doing?"

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, but her eyes widened in shock when she looked at her scroll. "It's not supposed to be doing that, it's supposed to be charging."

The two women looked at it closely for a moment before Kiara sighed.

"Liz," She said, a bit of anxiety in her voice as she pulled out her own scroll. "Can you check to see if mine does the same thing?"

Elizabeth hesitated but, nonetheless, turned Kiara's scroll on. When she did, it started acting similarly to her own.

"I don't know what it's doing," She told her as she handed it back to her, but Kiara took in a sharp breath upon scrutinizing the screen. "Kiara?" Elizabeth started slowly. "What is it?"

"That mark in the corner," She said, pointing to a darker smudge surrounded by a red hue. "Is markedly similar to the quote un quote Red Queen symbol that Cinder has associated herself with directly for years, but most notably from the –"

"Fall Of Beacon…" Elizabeth murmured, then shaking her head. "Damn it, we're going to have to turn our scrolls over to the Council, have them wiped, and change all of our emails, get our security marked up…"

Kiara shut both of their scrolls off before dropping them in separate plastic bags. "We can bring them into the DOJ tomorrow morning and have them wiped and checked."

"Dear god," Elizabeth said, probing her forehead. "This is going to be a hot mess."

"This isn't going to cause problems for us," Kiara told her, and Elizabeth bit her lip. "But –"

"I just…" Elizabeth trailed off for a moment, a bit of anxiety rising in her. "Kiara, this could be damning for us."

"That we got…" Kiara's eyes went wide when she realised that some of the classified information that had been on their scrolls had been relating to the group. "Liz, what if the Council looks through and finds the –"

"Information about Salem and the group?" Elizabeth asked her, and she nodded. "I don't know what would happen."

"Should we just have them wiped?" Kiara lowered her voice as she went on. "If they're in the –"

Elizabeth raised a finger to silence her as she reached for the landline and started to dial. "I'm calling Karissa to ask her what we have to do. Since she's the head of the DFAMA, she does have the authority to tell us to have our scrolls wiped without any other questions asked."

Kiara was silent for a long moment. "It's probably for the best, regardless. If that symbol really does mean that Cinder or someone working for her has gotten into our scrolls, then we need to choke off their stream of information."

"…Elizabeth?" Karissa said, a bit of confusion in his voice as he answered. "…Is something wrong?"

She sighed. "The Red Queen symbol appeared in the corner of my scroll and Kiara's not too long ago and is doing something to them."

Karissa took in a sharp breath. "…You know the procedure for circumstances like this, Elizabeth."

"Wiping?" She questioned, anxiety rising as a silence passed between them. "Complete wiping?"

"…Yes," Karissa said with finality in her voice. "…I'm still at work, and if you or Kiara come by before eleven, then I can wipe them myself and get you started in dealing with changing your scroll connexion numbers, IDs, and emails."

"Alright," Elizabeth said, hanging up and then turning to Kiara. "Karissa says if one of us comes by with them by eleven that she can wipe them and start on re-securing."

Kiara nodded, taking both of the scrolls and dropping them in her rather large bag. "I'll call your landline as soon as it's done, and I'll drop off the papers and your new scroll tomorrow morning before the DFAMA meeting."

Elizabeth was silent as she left, leaning back against the counter. Closing her eyes, she let the palms of her hands press into the counter for a brief moment before she forced herself back into the moment. Shaking her head, Elizabeth slipped off her heels and started to walk up the stairs. Pausing for a moment and jumping slightly as her daughter's haughty cat tore madly up the stairs, she took a few seconds to breathe but then walked up to the top of the stairs and set her shoes down temporarily on the landing. Poking her head into her daughter's room, she breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the seventeen year old curled up in bed and reading Anthony Burgess' _A Clockwork Orange_. Tapping her knuckles against the door, Elizabeth smiled upon her daughter looking up.

"You doing okay?" She asked her gently, and Caitlin shrugged. "Something wrong?"

"I'm just tired, and a bit nervous," She admitted, biting her lip and her green eyes wide. "Kinda like always. But I don't have anything pressing to do tonight, so I decided to try and relax. I got two new drawings done, and I wrote another song earlier that I'm happy with. I think Gecko, Genevieve, and I will start recording my demo soon."

Elizabeth smiled. "That's good to know."

"Was work rough today?" Caitlin asked her, looking at her mother curiously. "Are you okay?"

Elizabeth sighed. "Caity…"

"What?" She said, confusion warring with her curiosity.

"It's not a big deal, there's just a lot happening right now that I've had to deal with," She said, and Caitlin nodded as she set aside her book. "Don't worry about it, okay?"

"Okay," Caitlin said, glancing out her window to the darkened night where the city lights were twinkling.

"Hey," Elizabeth said, coming over to her and embracing her daughter. "I'm sure that you're going to be fine."

"What about Salem and Cinder?" Caitlin asked, biting her lip again. "Mommy?"

"They're not going to get to us," Elizabeth said, then pausing. "Or, at least, they probably won't. We live in Atlas, the strongest kingdom in the world and the safest. As long as we tread careful lines, no one's going to get us."

Caitlin nodded. "Alright…"

"I wish you didn't have to know about all this," Elizabeth said, a bit of sadness in her voice. "But that's why I'm keeping this between us. I haven't told your father you know, and I'm not telling your brother about this. I'll assume that Cas knows either from you or something else, but I'm going to do everything I can to protect you. Okay? There hasn't been a problem too big for me yet, and I'll be damned before I let something do that now."

"It ain't over until I win," Caitlin said, and Elizabeth smiled weakly. "That's the rule. Always."

"Exactly," Elizabeth said, affectionately ruffling her daughter's hair and mussing her bronze bangs and waves. "No one messes with Elizabeth Lillian Morell. Ever."

"There is more danger than we thought, though, isn't there?" Caitlin stared at her. "Mommy?"

Elizabeth sighed heavily as she ran her fingers through her hair. "To be honest, I think we all need to watch our backs."


	48. Chapter 48

_**December 5th  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
6:12 PM**_

"There's something uncanny about this," Caitlin said, shivering a bit as she continued to walk through the graveyard with Ruby, Cas, and Yang following her. "I swear, something feels off."

Ruby sighed as she pulled her cape tighter around her. "Why'd you drag us out here?"

"Because there's something oddly peaceful about graveyards," Caitlin said, bristling as the cold wind and the fading sun tore through her bronze waves and mussed her blunt bangs. Taking a moment to fix her hair, she sighed. "Whereas, in there, I couldn't help but get the feeling something was wrong."

Ruby scowled. "Don't say that to my dad."

"Because of his semblance?" She asked, and Ruby flinched a tiny bit. "What?"

"That might be insensitive," Cas whispered, adjusting her glasses but then elbowing Caitlin. "And Qrow's not that bad."

Caitlin shrugged. "Sorry."

Ruby glanced around nervously. "Look, it's really cold and a bit weird out here. Can't we just go back inside for the rest of the wedding? It's my dad, Yang's uncle, Cas' cousin -"

"In just a second," Caitlin said, motioning for them to follow her before pausing in front of the cemetery gates that led back to the church. "I -"

"Thought I'd find at least you out here," Emmett remarked as he came up from behind them, startling the four girls temporarily. "Something wrong, Caitlin?"

She hesitated, her green eyes flitting about anxiously. "Maybe. I just…"

"Have a feeling that something's wrong?" He suggested, and she nodded. Turning to Ruby and Yang as he ran his fingers through his shoulder length white waves, Emmett bit his lip. "You two should head back inside, we'll be there in a second."

Ruby nodded and then tore off back inside with Yang tight on her heels. After a long moment, Emmett started to walk back around the cemetery with Caitlin and Cas though it was not until several minutes later that he spoke.

"I could have sworn I saw my sister, Ashlynn," He said, his shoulders tense and his hands jammed into the pockets of his dress pants. "At the very least, I saw a woman with amber eyes hiding in the curtains."

Cas looked at her father, a bit of fear in her eyes. "What?"

"I'm only telling you two because I would have been shocked if you two couldn't feel that something was wrong," Emmett said, pausing as he turned to both girls. "And don't tell your mothers. Elizabeth will kill me if she knew I knew something about Cinder-Ashlynn and didn't tell her, and, Cas, as for your mother…"

"She'd freak," Cas finished, and Emmett sighed. "Especially since she's worried about the events surrounding -"

"Don't let her know that you're aware of all of this," Emmett said, a serious not in his voice. "For a variety of reasons, but also because she's worried enough and I want her to be able to relax."

"Ugh," Cinder said, stepping out from the shadows and causing all three of them to tense. "Really, Emmett? Talking about family and -"

"As if you're one to talk," Emmett snapped although his voice was shaking.

Caitlin looked around, her hands shaking, but then used her semblance of illusions to disappear - Emmett and Cas only knowing that she'd run back inside by the way the faint snow on the ground crunched and flew up in the wind.

"Casseia," Cinder said, brushing her natural hand through her hair and adjusting her bangs to cover her eye patch. "You've grown up so much, and I -"

"You've done nothing but threaten me and mommy for years," Cas said, her voice cracking as she shared a concerned look with her father. "What -"

"Family isn't something you can get away from," Cinder informed her, stepping towards her and Emmett. "No matter what happens, no matter what you say, we'll always be bound by blood."

Emmett swallowed hard as Cinder summoned a small ball of fire in her hand and twirled her finger over it, then diffusing it and moving quickly to be standing eye to eye with him.

"I forgot that you and I are the same height when I'm wearing heels," Cinder remarked, shaking her head. "5'11''. I suppose it's a good thing, when you consider how small your wife is. It's a damn shame that Salem has a bone to pick with her and her family, although I've been...strictly ordered to do nothing to her or to Ruby Rose."

Cas reached down into her boots and pulled out a knife which she held behind her back though she shrieked when Cinder incinerated it, burning her left hand enough to leave a mark even in spite of her aura.

"I'm not here to pick any fights," She said, crossing her arms and scowling at both of them. "I'm here to issue a warning, which is that if all of you don't choose the right side that you'll be damned. Chrissy's already made that choice, the Adels, and the Morells too. But _you_ , the Ciel-Schnee family, haven't. You have to make a move."

Emmett matched her scowl perfectly, emphasising it as he adjusted his glasses. "Ozpin's not perfect, but he's better than Salem. His faults are the same as most of us, that he doesn't trust and that creates a cycle of -"

"Quiet," Cinder said, putting up a finger to silence him. "I don't want to hurt you, I don't want to hurt your family, but _She_ does."

"Cas, let me handle this," Emmett said sharply, pushing his daughter gently out of the way and giving her a worried look. "Just -"

"Alright," Cas said, running back into the building while her psychitity was still making her feel sick.

Emmett and Cinder stared at each other with narrow eyes for a long moment.

"I was devastated when you and Chrissy died," Cinder said, looking away with a tear rising in her amber eye in spite of herself. "And when I found out that the two of you were alive, I realised that even though we're on opposite sides in all this...I don't want to harm all of you and I don't want to kill you."

Emmett narrowed his eyes. "You threatened my wife, and my daughter, from barely a year after Chrissy and I died. Why? What happened to you?"

Cinder sighed. "People don't change, Emmett, they're only revealed. As for what I did with your wife and daughter...I did what I needed to in order to prove my loyalty to Salem."

Emmett crossed his arms. "What does she have on you? What are you gaining from her?"

"Salem, unlike daddy and certainly unlike Ozpin, can and has given me a...leg up in my pursuit of power," Cinder hesitated as she went on. "I've done my best, I just can't get out of this. I'm too far in, and there's nothing that I can do to get out even if I want to."

"You don't care that you've killed people, you don't care that you've -" Emmett started, staring at her in horror.

"You could never understand!" Cinder shrieked, an uncanny silence following for a moment after her words. "None of you could or ever will! You know why? Because you don't understand what it's like to have to refuse to let someone have your life, to become a sacrifice to a hopeless cause! No one is ever going to win this war! Don't you see? Ozpin and Salem can _never_ defeat each other! All they can do is keep the other as distanced as possible!"

"You can't even see what you've become," Emmett said, starting to walk away but finding himself stuck by his sister's maiden powers. "The hell -"

"...If anyone in this room has an objection to this union then, at this moment, I ask you to now…." The preacher said, his voice booming through the doors as the wind blew them between open and shut - the wind summoned by Cinder. "...To at this moment speak now, or forever hold your peace."

"I'm going to let you go this once," Cinder said, although she didn't remove her brother's binds. "But not until after I -"

"...WIth the power -" The preacher began, though he was interrupted abruptly by Cinder tearing open the doors with her maiden powers and stepping into the room with a bit of sass in her gait.

"I have an objection," She said silkily, and both Winter and Qrow turned to look at her in horror. "And, sorry I'm late, traffic was a bitch."

Elizabeth Morell quickly stood up, reaching for something in her bag but finding it flung out of her hands.

"You're not putting a damn aura cuff on me, not this time," Cinder snapped, and Elizabeth started to shake in spite of herself, even as her daughter stood up and clung onto her as if she was still a child. "I am only here for my niece's sake, to protect her from Qrow Martin Branwen who himself is a bad luck charm."

"It's not going to work," Watts said derisively as he stepped in. "No matter what you say, your niece is going to end up just as much of a disappointment as my daughter."

"Both of you are Atlesian citizens, still," Allison snapped as she stood up, preventing both Qrow and Winter from beginning to speak. "Do you have any idea what that means?"

Watts laughed. "Yes, I am aware that some of the crimes constitute treason -"

Cinder quickly used her maiden powers to prevent anyone in the room from moving from their positions.

"You all fancy yourselves as so intelligent, as so high up in government and other positions," Cinder shook her head as she turned to Ozpin who had an arm wrapped protectively around his wife. "But all of you are fighting something you can't beat. If my maiden powers can do this, can stop a room of people like you from moving for as long as I please, then how do you expect to defeat someone stronger than me,someone with more power than me? How do you expect to defeat Salem, when neither Ozpin nor Salem can ever defeat each other?"

"You -" Cristal hissed.

"You've made your choice, everyone in this room has," Cinder replied, cutting her off. "And there's something to be said by your pushes, by your efforts, but it's going to come down to nothing."

"Now, of course, we've done things like hacking the Council last week, destroying Morell and Davis' scrolls, etc," Watts smirked as he walked towards his daughter and her family. "But we are at least in awareness of what this world is truly like, of what -"

"You're a monster," Allison said, shaking her head. "You always have been, and now -"

"Winter," Cinder said, stepping forward towards her niece. "I know that you think that you're going to be fine, but you're not. You really think that a man like Qrow, who is nothing but bad luck, is going to be good? That you're not going to be damned?"

Winter glared at her. "That's never going to happen."

Cinders sighed, turning to Watts and then back to them. "Fine. You've all made your choices, some of you earlier than others. But I will never extend this type of courtesy again. The next time any of you see us, it won't be under good circumstances, under circumstances that you will be able to come out alive in, if that is what it comes down to."

Within a few seconds, Cinder manipulated her powers to release everyone and, in the blink of an eye with her powers, they were gone.

"Oh my god…" Weiss said, pressing a finger to the spot in her chest where Watts had shot her back in August. "What the hell -"

"Emmy!" Emmett pulled his wife tightly into him as he ran into the room. "I -"

"Winter Anna Schnee," The preacher said, attempting to revert things to their proper tracks. "Qrow Martin Branwen, with the power vested in me, I now pronounce the two of you as husband and wife. You may kiss."

Qrow wrapped his arms gently around Winter, though she quickly pressed her lips against his and fervently kissed him.

"I love you…" She whispered, holding him close.

"I love you too," He swore, his voice shaking.

Yet the tension and festering wounds remained - and everyone in the room held each other closer that night as the shining lights made the seemingly final descent into darkness. But, at the same time, a certain woman of a deathly pallor couldn't help but smile — two of her disgraced able to re-enter her fold once more.


	49. Chapter 49

_**December 6th  
Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council  
Atlesian National Security Council  
Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action  
Security Level: High  
Necessary Security Clearance: Maximum  
2:14 PM**_

"That," Elizabeth said, shaking her head. "Was the most ridiculous show of power and the most flamboyant appeal to fear that I have ever seen under any circumstances."

Karissa Mar snorted. "They ruined a wedding, make of that what you will."

"Mar," Elizabeth said sharply, then realising that she had no standing to be condescending. "None of us are particularly in the mood to reminisce that at the moment, especially since -"

"We were there," Blake said, and Elizabeth gave him a grateful look while Karissa sighed. "What? That's true, we were. It was horrible, it really was."

"Well," Kiara said humourlessly. "At least they confirmed our suspicions that it was them that had stolen hundreds of thousands of documents from the government's systems and that it was them who had hacked my scroll and Elizabeth's."

"Yes, that was a lovely way to have that confirmed," Elizabeth remarked dryly. "The answer to an issue we had resolved as much as possible a few days ago, given to us by the people we were almost certain had been behind it."

"This isn't a good situation, but it's manageable," Winchester said, then motioning to Emmeline. "General Ciel, I take it this is going to open a full scale investigation?"

Emmeline nodded curtly. "That request alongside pertinent information was filed this morning, yes."

"Is there ever going to be a shred of good news around here?" Leanne Tanner shook her head. "Or are we going to remain in a perpetual hell?"

"I'd watch my language, Miss Tanner," Winchester said sharply, and she narrowed her eyes. "You may be the head of the –"

"Admiral Winchester, I do believe that you have heard worse in your seventy five years of life," Tanner replied, her voice equally sharp. "I do not need to be lectured by you, especially considering that you likely do the same. For however long you've spent in public service, you have grown no less entitled, and –"

"That's nothing more or less than pure effrontery," Winchester replied angrily. "How dare you suggest –"

"I believe I am more than –" Tanner began.

"Quiet, both of you," Emmeline snapped, and silence quickly took over the room. "We are never going to get anything done if we are always at each other's throats, and, to answer your original question, Tanner, there is a shred of good news."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Relating to what?"

"A few of the specialists under my jurisdiction managed to track down Dr. Merlot," She said evenly, then looking to Blake. "Turns out that you were correct, and he was hiding in the Mountain Glenn site. More specifically, he was hiding in the tunnels but in a hidden sector that was just beyond where Torchwick and the White Fang had been operating."

"That is good news," Elizabeth said, sighing in relief. "Hopefully that means things can slow down for just a little."

"How soon will they arrive in the kingdom with him?" Blake asked, fiddling nervously with his wedding ring as his thoughts continuously came back around to his concern for Allison's safety and that of their family. "And how much do they think he might know?"

"All they've been able to ask him have been relating to how he survived, and the basics of what he was doing down there," Emmeline said, and he looked down for a moment dejectedly. "For god's sake, Blake, as much as we all want to know what his connexions to Watts are, it's not as if we can trust anything he says when he isn't legally obligated to tell the truth. Let alone the fact that the specialists do not have access to information regarding the details of why he needed to be tracked down and was subpoenaed for testimony."

"Well, hopefully we'll know soon enough," He said, forcing his tone to be even. "Especially considering the events of yesterday."

"We're all concerned because of that," Emmeline said, giving him a sharp look. "And I understand why especially you would be worried but, at the present moment, we have multiple investigations underway relating to tracking their locations, locking and better securing the Council's systems, the situation with Merlot. That's only to name a few, and we must stay focused."

"Of course," Blake said, glancing to Elizabeth. "Are you doing alright?"

She scowled. "Of course I am."

He grimaced slightly at the harshness of her tone. "Sorry."

"Look," Kiara said, eyeing everyone in the room seriously. "There is nothing we can do right now other than to limit the risks of everything that we are involved with and to further the progress in each of the investigations which are currently in progress. If we get much more caught up in our own problems, then we're all going to hell."

Winchester glared at her. "You too?"

Kiara matched his glare. "Do keep in mind, Winchester, that I do have a role in overseeing high ranking members of the Atlesian military, such as yourself, and if you are becoming restless or unfit to perform your –"

"My apologies, Madame Davis," He said quickly. "I am merely irritated by the situation we are stuck in as is everyone else."

"Understandable," She replied curtly.

A weighted silence passed, it only being broken upon Emmeline projecting historical information on both Watts and Cinder through her scroll.

"It has been well documented over the years that the two of them are some of the most dangerous people in the world, let alone two of the greatest threats to Atlesian national security," Emmeline sighed heavily as she went on. "What I fear is that their plans go beyond what we can imagine. We all have our own guesses, our own concerns, but if the two of them can continuously slip between our fingers in some way…then what else are they capable of? What else, if they can do everything that they have before or potentially more, is it that they can do to undermine or destroy everything that we, not only as a kingdom but beyond the confines of our borders, have worked so hard to build?"

"Then we'll be destroyed," Elizabeth said, shaking her head. "We'll all be damned, and the kingdoms will lay in tatters."

* * *

"Win," Qrow said gently, reaching over and placing a hand on his wife's shoulder. "You don't have to act like nothing's bothering you. Honestly, what happened yesterday is bothering me too."

Winter continued to scowl at the chess board and moved her bishop. "Checkmate."

Qrow sighed. "Win, please don't try and -"

"I am not trying to deny anything," She said, sighing as she leaned back into the plush chair in their hotel suite in Vale. "I promise, okay?"

"Win, are you sure?" He looked at her with nothing but concern in his voice and reflected in his red eyes. "If this has anything to do with Cinder and –"

"Fine," She snapped. "I'm not alright, but I don't want to talk about it."

Qrow looked away for a moment, hurt rising in him. "Win, I…"

"Don't say it," She said, standing up and running her fingers through her thick white hair. "I'm the one that should be sorry, not you. I'm just stressed, and taking it out on you isn't fair."

"We're both stressed," Qrow said, watching her as she paced. "I know that yesterday didn't go the way either of us had wanted it to, at least in every way, but we're still married. I love you, Winter, and I'm not going to leave you or let you get hurt."

She paused and turned to face him. "I know." She said softly.

"Is there anything that I can do?" He asked, standing up and coming over to her. "Win, please, I just want to help."

She hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "Qrow, please just...just hold me."

He wrapped his arms tightly around her. "I love you."

"I love you too…" She said, resting her head on his shoulder. "Maybe I should take some time to relax."

"You should," He agreed, rubbing her back. "Especially since we've been trying to focus more on us in the last few months."

Winter sighed. "Qrow, you know how my job is sometimes."

"And I get it," He said, his voice soothing as he continued to rub her back. "But that doesn't mean that you and I both don't turn to our work as way of getting around what we're afraid of."

"Don't remind me," She said, closing her eyes for a brief moment. "And that feels good, Qrow."

"Well, Winter Branwen," Qrow said with a smile. "You know how I feel about you."

"Of course I do," She replied, her wedding ring glistening as she placed a hand on his chest. "I feel the same way. I married you, after all."

Qrow nodded. "I know, and I just hope things calm down for us."

"I do too," She said, then sighing again. "Qrow, there are a few things I think we should talk about."

He looked at her in concern. "What is it, Win?"

"Well, for one thing, can you promise me that you're not going to keep thinking that your semblance is going to hurt me?" She spoke with sharp words but with a gentle tone. "You're not a bad luck charm, and you're not going to hurt me because of your semblance."

He was silent for a moment, but then kissed her forehead. "You really think that?"

"I know that," She said, her blue eyes wide as she looked to him. "I know that you're not going to hurt me because of your semblance."

"Okay," He said, giving her an affectionate squeeze. "Anything else, Win?"

She hesitated but then went on. "Qrow, I obviously don't want to entertain this right away but within a few months or a year, how would you feel about us having a family?"

Qrow stared at her for a long moment but then kissed her softly. "You really want us to have a family?"

"Not right now," She reminded him gently. "But at some point soon that's within reason."

"Well, yeah, since of course I want us to have a family," Qrow smiled as he held her close. "I would love it if we had a family, I just don't want anything to happen to us or our family."

"I don't either," Winter said, laughing as he began kissing her neck. "Qrow!"

"Sorry," He said, pausing and looking at her worriedly. "Win, are you sure that -"

"Fine," She said, taking in a sharp breath before going on. "I'm just worried that the second we get back in Atlas that something is going to happen again and that we're going to react too quickly, damn the consequences."

"Like with the handling of the aftermath of Mountain Glenn and the Valerian Council alongside that?" He asked, cupping her cheek. "That would be bad, but it would be worse if we went back to Mistral and tried to deal with the situation at Haven. The academy doesn't have a headmaster, the Council isn't going to appoint one or at least doesn't seem like it is, and it's not like Salem is becoming any less powerful."

"Things are getting darker out there," Winter said, casting a cursory glance out the window. "And I agree that we can't guarantee that there's going to be a quick or simple outcome because of her."

"I can't help but wonder when everything went to hell," Qrow admitted, then sighing. "But I guess all we can do is keep doing what we've always done. I'm a huntsman, you're a military woman, and, regardless of my issues with James, all of us...we all fight. Maybe not always for the right reasons, but for the right end."

"I know," She said, a tinge of remorse in her voice. "But we'll find a way on, and, hopefully, we'll find a way out of the dark."

"Me too," Qrow said, kissing her gently. "To be honest, I think we all do."

* * *

Allison glared out the window from which she could see the most prominent landmarks in the downtown City Of Atlas. "I should have shot him."

Cristal sighed, adjusting her glasses as she swiveled around in her desk chair. "Al, I -"

"After everything he's done, after…" Allison shook her head. "I should have shot him, but I…"

"Al, you and I both know that you could never bring yourself to kill anyone no matter the circumstances," Cristal hesitated as she went on. "I...I certainly couldn't."

"None of us could, not really," Allison sent the city another sharp look. "What are we becoming, even thinking of doing what they do? What if I really am like my father?"

"Listen, Allie," Cristal said, standing up and loosely embracing her. "If you said that to Blake, what would he say? If you said that to Coco or Heather, what would they tell you?"

Allison bit her lip. "That's not fair."

"Is it not fair because you're being stubborn and assuming you're a horrible person?" Cristal replied, an eyebrow raised. "Al, I know why you're nervous, I know why you're scared, and the truth is that I am too. But we can't live our lives filled with fear. That's not going to do anything but play into their hands."

Allison was silent for a long moment but then sighed. "Maybe I'm too hard on myself…"

"I have the same problem," Cristal reminded her. "And I can tell, not only because of that, because of how well I know you."

Allison smiled weakly. "It's good knowing that some things don't change."

"I know," Cristal said, stepping back over to her desk and beginning to look over paperwork. "Even this is nice to have back, and filing might be one of the most mundane tasks a person can do."

"You're funny," Allison said, laughing a bit and playfully punching Cristal's arm. "Seems like you have retained that part of you."

Cristal rolled her eyes. "And you'd thought that I'd changed all that much?"

"Once we all got past the initial shock of you and Emmett being alive, it was a relief to know you two were still the same," Allison told her, giving her a serious look. "Believe me, losing the two of you was hard on everyone."

She glanced away for a brief moment. "I know…"

"Chrissy," Allison said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Promise not to tell?" She asked, her grey eyes piercing even behind her glasses. "Al, please."

"Of course I won't tell," She swore and Cristal motioned for her to sit down, then doing so herself. "So, what is it?"

"I just can't stop worrying about what might happen if we can't defeat Salem," Cristal said after a few seconds of hesitation. "What's going to happen to me? Or to Oz? Or to our child? And all of you?"

"We will be able to defeat Salem, and, before you ask because I know you will, I am not just saying that for no damn reason," Allison said, looking at her sharply but with sympathy. "I am saying that because, for all their powers, they're going to eventually break down. Salem's already arrogant enough to think she can get whatever she wants, that she can destroy humanity, and get what she wants no matter what. But she can't, because she's vulnerable to her own power. The silver eyes that Ruby has? Shock her with those enough times and we'll be able to seal her away in a Pandora's box of sorts. After that, we'll only have to deal with people like my father and Cinder who are easier to deal with because they're still human."

Cristal stared at her silently for a minute that felt to be much longer. Finally, she sighed and ran her finger through her long white curls.

"You're right," She conceded, her voice soft. "But that doesn't make this any easier."

"You'd be hard pressed to find a damn thing that could make this easier, even a Relic," Allison said resolutely. "We all would be."

"Chrissy?" Ozpin paused in the door of her office upon noticing Allison. "Oh, Allison, I didn't realise –"

"I was just leaving," She said, almost too quickly as she sent Cristal a sharp look. "I need to talk to Glynda and James about something anyways."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow as she walked briskly out of the room, her heels clicking. "I'll take it she's got a lot on her mind?"

"Do any of us not?" Cristal sighed. "And, yes, she does. After what happened yesterday, amongst other things including seeing her father again, she's conflicted because she wishes she had shot him but feels guilty for even letting that thought cross her mind because she thinks that makes her like him. She half admitted that she, in her words, _might_ be wrong but, like me, I can't imagine she really meant it."

"Neither of you need to or should be so hard on yourselves about everything," Ozpin said, and she sent a cursory glance out the window. "Chrissy, we're all worried but –"

"You don't understand," She said, burying her face in her hands for a moment. "There was something, with being stuck for those few minutes yesterday, that made me feel completely helpless, as if there is no hope in this world except in the ability to fight but is it worth it if we're just born to fight and die while casting the burdens onto everyone else?"

"Chrissy, you're a huntress," Ozpin reminded her, and she groaned. "Deny it however you like, but you are. Yes, you're the CEO of a major company, but that doesn't make you any less of a huntress."

"Does it?" She questioned, a bit irritably as she looked up. "Or does it make it even more obvious that I'm not really a huntress, for however much I cling to the position?"

Ozpin sighed. "Chrissy…"

"Almost everything I've ever done has helped me get my way or make me stronger," She said, tears rising behind her eyes in spite of her efforts. "If I had never died in the first place, then I would still be the Winter Maiden and Willow wouldn't. And I killed a woman for those powers."

"In self defense," Ozpin shook his head as he came over to her, helped her up, and pulled her in tightly. "It wasn't malicious, Chrissy."

She bit her lip. "Some days, I'm not so sure anymore what anything I'm doing or have done is right, let alone what I might."

"It's going to be alright," He promised her, squeezing her gently and then pressing a hand to her curve. "And our family will be too."

"I hope so," She murmured, relaxing a bit into his embrace as he lightly held her from the waist once more. "I really do."

He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "I promise, it's all going to be fine. I've spent too long running from it, but we'll end this war and then, with time, all will be well."

Cristal sighed heavily. "That's the hope, isn't it?"


	50. Chapter 50

_**December 13th  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
9:13 PM**_

"Emmeline," Edward Ciel said calmly as he spoke, looking between her and Emmett. "I don't want us to be at odds with each other, I'm just worried that you're stressing yourself too much with everything –"

"I'm not a child," She snapped. "I can take care of myself."

"I know that," Edward said, giving Emmett a pleading look. "Can you agree with that?"

"Emmy's fine," He said, wrapping an arm around his wife, pulling her in close, and resting a hand protectively over her curve. "I trust her judgement."

"After what happened last week, I'm just concerned about the two of you," Edward sighed. "Emmeline, you can't shut people out, you can't shut your emotions down just so you can continue to spread yourself thin. You have to take care of yourself."

"Are you _not_ listening to me?" She crossed her arms as she went on. "I'm fine and I can take care of myself."

"Emmeline, the last few months have been straining on everyone and, on top of that, you're pregnant again," Edward looked at his daughter in concern. "I know you've got a lot on your mind, but I don't want the two of us to be constantly angry with each other because I'm worried about you and Emmett."

Emmeline scowled. "That's not helpful."

"Hey," Emmett said, swiftly kissing her. "I'll always help you out, Emmy."

She stared at him. "Emmett!"

"I didn't need to hear that," Ciel said, grimacing. "Especially knowing what that implies, Schnee. You're thirty nine years old, and the COO of the largest producer of energy propellant in the world. Please don't –"

"Be affectionate to my wife?" He suggested, and Ciel groaned. "What? That was a serious question."

"I don't want to know anything you have a desire to do with my daughter," Ciel said sharply. "Please don't imply those things around me. Or the rest of the family."

"Mom died during a military operation six years ago," Emmeline reminded him, a bit of irritation in her voice. "But Spencer's –"

"I don't want to discuss your brother," Ciel said, sighing heavily as he stood up. "There's enough pain and difficulty surrounding our family without reminiscing the fact that your brother is a drug addict."

"Your brother's a drug addict?" Cristal raised an eyebrow as she stepped into the room, adjusting her glasses. "What?"

"I have absolutely no desire to discuss this," Edward said, heading towards the stairs. "We'll talk more later, Emmeline. For now, for your sake, please don't spread yourself thin."

"Of course," She said shortly, shaking her head as soon as she heard the door click shut downstairs. "I swear to god, he's improbable."

Cristal shrugged. "I suppose, though I don't quite –"

"My brother's been fighting addiction for...well..." Emmeline bit her lip. "In short, he can't seem to put his needles down despite being a single father of three kids."

Cristal stared at her for a moment but then sighed. "Oh."

"My family's complicated," Emmeline said, her voice clipped. "That's the easiest way to explain it, I suppose."

"Our family isn't complicated," Emmett said, pressing a soft kiss to her lips and holding her close in his arms. "You, me, Cassie, the baby…"

"Emmett…" She said, teasingly scolding him. "Not right now…"

He relented though he kept an arm wrapped protectively around her waist. "Sorry."

"Chrissy?" Ozpin asked gently as he stepped into the room. "You okay?

She sighed. "I'm fine, Oz."

He looked at her in concern as he came over to her and gently embraced her. "Something's bothering you, isn't it?"

"I'm just exhausted," She said, resting her head on his chest as he squeezed her. "Especially since she wouldn't stop kicking me earlier today -"

"She?" Ozpin stared at her for a moment before pressing a hand to her noticeable curve. "We're...we're having a daughter?"

Cristal nodded. "Yeah, I...I -"

Ozpin pulled her in tighter than she had expected, giggling a little in spite of herself.

"Chrissy, that's wonderful," He said, holding her in his arms and softly kissing her. "I'm sure she's going to be sweet, and -"

"Our little Courtney Blair…" Cristal murmured, and he smiled. "Our baby girl."

"And we're not allowed to be affectionate?" Emmett laughed even as she sent him a glare. "What?"

"That's not funny," She said, scowling.

"Sorry," Emmett said, putting up his hands in surrender. "I should know better than to be mean to my big sister."

"She's only ten minutes older than you," Emmeline reminded him. "But you should know better than to provoke -"

"I know," Emmett said with a smirk as he pushed up his glasses. "I married a powerful woman, several of my close friends are powerful women, my sister is also -"

They all paused upon hearing the door click shut from downstairs and the continued clicking of what sounded like heels on the stairs.

"What the hell is that?" Cristal asked anxiously, looking to Emmeline. "Is -"

"Oh, for god's sake, you really shouldn't have given me a spare key if you hadn't wanted me to visit," A haughty voice said as she strutted into the room and hung up her rather large, white mink coat on the rack in the room. "Cristal, Emmett, you're both reasonably intelligent human beings, so why is it -"

"You don't live here," Cristal snapped, and Victoria rolled her eyes. "And I thought you were so miffed by people like me who cross our legs at the knee because it's 'impolitic'. What -"

"Cristal, I'm not here for the sake of tearing out your hair," Victoria said, unconsciously adjusting her stiff, faded red and curled hair. "Or," She said, looking to her son with a bit of irritation. "That of brother's ridiculous, shoulder length waves. Emmett, you're not -"

"I don't care what you think of my hair, I'm a thirty nine year old man," Emmett said, vaguely amused by the mere fact that they were even discussing the subject. "And I'm married, and the father of a sweet seventeen year old girl and will be the father of an equally sweet -"

"Your wife is only four months pregnant," Victoria said as she stepped into the kitchen and inspecting various wine bottles. "I'd be shocked if they could tell the sex yet. When I was pregnant with you and Cristal, they couldn't tell for either of you until I was six months pregnant."

Emmeline groaned. "Victoria, for years I've tried to accommodate you in my life and Cas and I both do our best to deal with you but there is a reason that when you and Nicholas divorced -"

"You and daddy divorced?" Cristal stared at her mother in shock. "Why didn't -"

"Thank you, Emmeline," Victoria said irritably, her gaze lingering on a certain red. "Yes, Cristal, your father and I divorced a few years after you and your brother died, and shortly before he himself died the two of us...crossed paths at an SDC ball under Jacques' leadership of the company and I irritably -"

"Oh my god!" Emmeline exclaimed, burying her face in her hands. "Victoria, you make everything so much -"

"My dear, say whatever you like I am sure I have heard it before," Victoria said silkily, pulling out the red she'd been eyeing and holding it up. "Is this one good, Cristal?"

She scowled. "You know I can't drink."

"And I know you've tasted most high class wines at some point before you were pregnant," Victoria replied. "Is it?"

"Yes," She said, crossing her arms. "But you still don't live here."

Victoria shrugged as she uncorked the bottle and began to pour herself a glass. "How have you all been?"

"Better," Emmett said. "Since usually people's mothers don't just walk in for no reason when they don't live there."

"Amen to that," Emmeline muttered.

Victoria rolled her eyes but then became serious as she sipped her wien and turned to Ozpin. "Tell me," She started. "Do you know yet if your child is going to have magic like you do?"

Cristal tensed, looking to him in concern. "She might have magic?"

Ozpin hesitated, but then nodded. "Yes, Chrissy, she might have magic."

"Which means that Salem will be especially interested in your family," Victoria remarked, then shaking her head. "Not that, I imagine, she isn't already."

Cristal paled. "No…"

"Chrissy," Ozpin said, giving her a gentle squeeze as she started to shake. "It's going to be alright -"

"Not if she goes after our baby girl!" Cristal exclaimed in horror, tears rising in her eyes against her will. "Not if she goes after us and our family because -"

"Chrissy -" He started.

Cristal all but ran out of the room, looking rather sick and she was quickly followed in deep concern by Ozpin.

"Well," Victoria said after a long pause. "Someone should give her those anti anxiety pills she's supposed to take."

"She can't take those, it could harm her baby," Emmeline said, giving Victoria an irritated look. "And was that necessary?"

"Yes," Victoria said, then rolling her eyes when both of them scowled at him. "Fine, perhaps this wasn't the best time but, in my defense -"

"Mommy, I need -" Cas started, pausing awkwardly when she they all stared at her. Fiddling with one of her earbuds, she sighed. "I'm interrupting something, aren't I?"

"No more than I am," A male voice unfamiliar to all of them except for Emmeline and Cas said, hesitantly stepping into the room. "Although Vicky's a pretty good example of intrusion."

"Spencer?" Emmeline stared at her brother as he rubbed his neck and sat down on the chair across from her and Emmett. "What -"

"Spencer Ciel," Victoria said as she continued to sip her wine. "Weren't you just released from rehab a few months ago but have been infamously documented as having returned to your needles?"

Spencer looked down at his feet. "I…"

"What is it?" Emmeline asked him, probing her forehead as Victoria paced and continued to drink, Cas stood around awkwardly, and Emmett wrapped an arm around her waist. "If it's that you need more money, I'm not giving it to you so that you can by more -"

"That's not what I'm going to ask," He said, rolling up his sleeves and exposing the numerous marks on the inner crook of his elbows from where he'd injected the diamorphine going back to shortly after their mother's death. "I'm your little brother, no matter what, though, right?"

Emmeline grimaced as she looked at her brother's arms. "Spencer -"

"You and Emmett are lucky," He said, looking down at his hands. "And you're lucky because you have stable, happy families -"

"Spencer, there is far more complexity to -" Emmett started.

"Still," He said, laughing humorlessly for a moment. "I'm sure daddy is proud of the boy he's raised...but not of the man he says he didn't."

Emmeline swallowed hard, her brown eyes wide as she twisted her thick, waist length dark hair in her hands. "Spencer, I can't speak for our father and you and I both know that his pride is one of his faults - frankly, I think we both suffer from that."

Victoria snorted. "Understatement, _General_ Ciel."

Spencer shook his head sadly. "That's proof too. Em's successful, Emmett is, Cas is going to be -"

"Spencer," Emmeline said, looking at him seriously. "What is it you want from us?"

He bit his lip, and hesitated for a long moment but still forced himself to speak. "I don't know if I'm going to survive this, I don't know if I…"

"Spencer," Emmeline said, taking in a deep breath before going on. "Put your needles down, please. If you want to survive, then…"

"Then what?" He said, his voice breaking. "I have two little boys and a daughter -"

"The best thing for you is to, with your kids, leave this awful town," Emmeline said a bit quicker than she'd expected. "That's all I can think of. Maybe go to Argus in Mistral, which is more than -"

"Okay…" He said, burying his face in his hands. "God, since when did all of the wax melt away…"

Victoria raised an eyebrow. "Is he high?" She asked Cas in a low voice.

Cas scowled. "You don't -"

"Cas," Emmett said gently. "Can you let us handle this?"

She hesitated, but then nodded, placed her other earbud in the ear, and ran off to her room on the third floor.

"Sometimes things are just going to go to hell," Emmeline said, rubbing her neck as she shared a look with Emmett who pressed a kiss to her cheek and pulled her closer with one hand resting protectively over her curve. "And family can be one of those things."

"No kidding," Victoria said darkly. "Say what any of you will, but I know that better than anyone else. Ashlynn...she's a prime example of my failure."

"Regret's a funny emotion, isn't it?" Spencer mumbled.

Emmett sighed, squeezing his wife lovingly. "It can be, but more often than not there's something much worse lying beneath it…"

* * *

Glynda sighed as Elizabeth finished her story. "You're joking."

"Because I would joke about some kids at Atlas Academy blowing up the elevator with a new Dust application that they didn't do right," Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I hope your kids will know better than that. I'm not sure mine do, and they're seventeen and thirteen respectively."

"Lizzie, I'm due in six days," Glynda said tiredly. "Please don't put thoughts like that in my head."

Elizabeth shrugged. "Sorry."

"To be honest, I'm still nervous about it no matter how happy I am that James and I are having a family," Glynda paused for a moment but then went on. "It's probably irrational."

"Sure," Elizabeth agreed. "But it's normal. Believe me, I've never met a woman who has been completely calm about having a child, especially their first child, unless they were on some sort of crazy anti anxiety drug."

Glynda raised an eyebrow. "Who –"

"Kiara Davis," Elizabeth told her, and Glynda couldn't help but laugh a little. "When she was pregnant with Kelley, who's the same age as Caitlin and Cas, she was so stressed by work that her doctor found some sort of excessively strong anti anxiety drug that wouldn't harm her pregnancy. It made her loopier than anyone I've ever seen, and she made me swear after Kelley was born that we'd keep the meetings we had in which she went off on odd tangents secret because of it."

"Weren't you still a journalist at the time and she was a low level representative and lawyer for the DCCCP?" Glynda smirked as she continued. "I can imagine she might have told you a few things you weren't supposed to know."

"Well, yes," Elizabeth admitted. "I didn't make those things public…on purpose…but the funny thing was the way that she would get distracted by the littlest things. Like the glinting of my wedding ring."

"Sounds like you and Kiara were wilder when we were younger than the two of you would ever care to admit to," Glynda remarked, and Elizabeth scowled. "What?"

"Don't make me feel like an uptight shrew," She said, her tone primarily sarcastic. "I'm sure I sound like one enough during security council meetings."

"Elizabeth, the last thing you are is an uptight shrew," James said as came into the room, smiling as he sat down next to his wife and kissed her cheek. "I think we can all attest to moments in which you've let loose."

Elizabeth turned a bit pink. "Oh god."

"Like two years ago, for instance," Glynda said slyly. "When you snapped at the entire DFAMA and informed them that they were 'acting like children.'"

"Stop it, please," Elizabeth said, her face flushed. "This is embarrassing."

"It is?" Glynda shook her head. "Oh, alright, fine, I'll stop."

"You have absolutely no grounds on which to joke about me letting loose," Elizabeth told her, then smirking as she went on. "Considering some of the things you said to me during the Beacon Academy dance at the Vytal Festival."

"And that was…" Glynda said as she adjusted her glasses.

"For one thing," Elizabeth started, leaning forward slightly with her smirk retained. "You told me that if I was ever confused by how to use a gun without Dust bullets that it's like sex."

Glynda stared at her, grimaced, and then sighed. "Damn you."

"If I recall," Elizabeth added. "Your exact words were 'you just shove the thing in the thing and make it work' to which I replied 'so like sex' and you said 'yes, exactly like sex but without the sex.'"

"That shouldn't count, you were the one –" Glynda protested.

"No, no, no," Elizabeth said, winking mischievously. "You already damned me."

"I should have done it for a fax machine," She muttered. "You wouldn't have known."

"No one would have," James said, laughing a little. "Considering that no one uses them anymore."

"Except for someone's overbearing mother," Elizabeth commented as she pushed her long, dark hair back. "I could see Victoria Schnee being that overbearing mother."

James rolled his eyes. "Victoria Schnee's always been overbearing. Have you not seen the interviews she always gave in which she would go out of her way to make Jacques' life miserable and that was the only reason she was talking to the press in the first place?"

"I would imagine that the amount of gel he puts in his hair violates the fire code," Elizabeth said, imitating Victoria's voice perfectly. "After all, I'm sure you could use the excess as lighter fluid."

Glynda laughed. "I remember that."

"Who wouldn't?" Elizabeth replied. "She's a bitch, but she has excellent timing."

"Speaking of people with 'excellent timing,'" James said, looking to his wife. "Did you hear about what happened at Atlas Academy this morning?"

"I told her," Elizabeth informed him.

"They didn't really blow up an elevator, did they?" Glynda groaned when James nodded. "How the hell does that work?"

"They were experimenting with different powdered forms of Dust," James said, and Elizabeth started laughing. "And the metal canister they were combining them in started to release smoke when they dropped in powdered gravity Dust to their mixture of fire and lighting Dust."

"Which is probably one of the stupidest things you can do," Elizabeth added, unable to hide her amusement. "Especially since we've used that combination in our attempts to get into space, or at least we did before we realised that Dust doesn't work outside of the planet's atmosphere."

"So, it started smoking and they decided to take whatever was doing that and drop in an elevator?" Glynda raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't make sense."

"According to both Flynt Coal and Neon Katt," James said, sighing. "They knew that whatever was happening could 'blow us all to hell' so they pulled three students out of the elevator, dropped it in there, closed the doors, and let it blow up the elevator shaft."

"That's…" Glynda shook her head. "I don't even know what to say, that's ridiculous."

"Let's just say that the Department Of Homeland Security doesn't like what happened," Elizabeth said, then shrugging. "I overruled them, as did Blake, saying that it was an accident and that there's no need to throw two Atlas Academy students in federal prison for something like that when we have bigger concerns, but Irabella Carrington was unhappy about it."

"She's always had a stick up her ass," Glynda remarked, and Elizabeth scoffed. "What?"

"That's an understatement," Elizabeth said. "But I appreciate someone agreeing with me."

"That's not a surprise," James said as he kissed Glynda's cheek. "We all can attest to that."

"Well, of course," Elizabeth said with a smirk. "After all, we all know how I like to get my way."

Glynda rolled her eyes. "You always have."

* * *

"I'm glad you're alright," Winter said, smirking a bit as she walked with her sister. "With what happened with Team FNKI and their Dust."

Weiss shrugged. "I mean, it wasn't that bad in the end. Although it could have been. The head of the DHS came up to the Academy a day after it happened and informed them that they could be thrown in federal prison over it."

"That's stupid," Qrow said, wrapping an arm around his wife. "It wasn't intentional, was it?"

"Of course it wasn't, it was a harmless experiment!" Weiss exclaimed, then shaking her head. "I mean, it ended poorly but it was on purpose."

"You sound like Ruby or Yang when they try to deny things that they've done wrong," Qrow remarked, and she rolled her eyes. "Or whenever they lose to me during video games."

"What video games do you play with them?" Winter asked him in amusement. "Shaq Fu?"

"Na," He said, then laughing off of the confused look Weiss gave him. "Okay, well, sometimes. But we also play Halo -"

"Good thing Caitlin Morell isn't here," Weiss said with a smirk. "Because she'd ask you all about the versions, weapons -"

"Yeah, no," Qrow said, then shaking his head. "I'm going to be honest, I just mash buttons half the time and I manage to blow off their heads."

"Blow off their heads?" Winter questioned, an eyebrow raised. "That's the point of Halo?"

"No, but I'm not going to bore you with video game talk," Qrow swiftly pressed a kiss to her lips, causing her to flush a bright pink even in the lower light of the courtyard area of Atlas Academy in which they were walking. "How about this? How was your day?"

Winter gave him a funny look. "Since when are you interested in my job?"

"I am your husband," He reminded her. "I'm interested in everything about you."

Weiss grimaced. "Ew."

"Hey," Qrow said, his voice teasingly sharp. "I could say the same thing about every time you and Ruby are affectionate to each other -"

"Qrow!" Weiss exclaimed, feeling slightly scandalised but then lowering her voice. "Rubes and I haven't even been together that long -"

"Weiss," Winter said, looking at her sister seriously. "I completely support you and Ruby -"

"I do too -" Qrow added.

"So you have no reason to be embarrassed, truly," Winter said, and Weiss nodded. "Does that make you feel at least a little bit better?"

Weiss nodded. "Yes, which is a relief since there's not much that I feel good about these days."

Qrow and Winter shared a long look before he spoke.

"I think we're all starting to lose our grip on hope," He admitted, a tinge of sadness in his voice. "And that's the one thing that we all need to cling to, especially now. After all, it might become all that we have left."


	51. Chapter 51

_**December 20th  
Schnee Dust Company  
World Headquarters  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **12:17 PM**_

"Winter, it's perfectly fine," Cristal said, sighing as her niece continued to pace around her office. "I can't imagine that this one trip is going to be damning. For god's sake, you're going to Argus. Of all the places in the world that you could be sent for a week because the current commanding officer is recovering from an accident, that is one of the safest. We have a strong presence there because of the mutual interests we have in that region, and, while it's sending you outside Atlas, it's not sending you anywhere sketchy. I'm surprised you even care at all."

Winter paused for a moment but then shook her head. "I only care because of some changes Qrow and I are going to be making in our lives."

Cristal raised an eyebrow as she leaned forward, propping her elbows up on her desk and clasping her hands together as she sent a cursory glance towards her emails. "What kind of change might that be?"

Winter hesitated. "You're joking, aren't you?"

Cristal shook her head. "No, I'm not. What are you talking about, Winter?"

She sighed as her aunt stood up and closed her laptop. "Cristal…"

"I'm serious, Winter," She said, folding her arms across her chest. "What are you talking about?"

Winter gestured to her aunt's rather visible curve. "Qrow and I are planning on starting a family."

Cristal looked at her in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes," Winter said, then biting her lip. "And he's worried that I'm going to drown myself in my work and change my mind."

"Well," Cristal said hesitantly. "Will you?"

Winter stared at her. "Are you joking?"

"No, that was a serious question," Cristal said, adjusting her glasses and leaning against her desk. "Are you going to do that?"

"No, of course not," Winter said quickly. "I care about my work, but in the last few months Qrow and I...well, he's convinced me that having a child would be a good thing for us, and that he'd take fewer missions to take care of it so I could continue to work."

"See, it's harder to do that when both of you are huntsmen," Cristal clicked her tongue as she gave her a sympathetic look. "Things like that are easier when you run the company you work for like Emmett and I do. Emmett's going to be able to take care of his second child is born in May, and, as for me and Oz, when my daughter's born in late February then I'll be able to work around most of the issues by working from home or having Oz care for her during the day if I have a board meeting or have to be at the office."

Winter nodded. "I know that, Cristal, but you...your circumstances are easier to deal with than mine."

Cristal snorted. "Yes, because it's easy having the life I do. Circumstances aside, I have severe anxiety, I've had to work incredibly hard to earn my strength and fight -"

"But things are still easier for you, and your relationship with your husband is far less complicated -" Winter started.

"No, I don't think that's true," Cristal said as gently as she could. "Winter, no one, unless their marriage is nonexistent, has a marriage that is simple or without complications. It's not really comparable, and the best sign of a strong marriage, so far as I'm concerned, is being able to communicate and work though those complications. Everyone I know is able to do that, and I know you and Qrow can. Oz and I do, Emmett and Emmeline do, the lord knows that Blake and Allison, Elizabeth and Michael, and Glynda and James do."

Winter sighed. "I'm probably overthinking."

"That's a learned trait that you've gotten from people like me," Cristal said, and Winter nodded. "But it's not a bad thing, you just have to learn to not let it get to you."

"You probably know that better than anyone," Winter said, then pausing when she realised that her words could have been insensitive. "Sorry, I -"

"No, that's true," Cristal said, then smiling in spite of herself. "But the most important thing I've learned is to let the hardest things that you can go, to not let yourself become defeated, and to fight back no matter what. To not let anyone snuff out your fire."

Winter stared at her for a moment. "That sounds difficult, more difficult than a lot of the things we generally consider difficult."

"It is but, at the end of the day, you can't reap what you don't sow," Cristal replied. "You have to let things go to move forward. No matter what your end goal is, I'm afraid that if you don't learn to let go that you'll find yourself stuck if you don't remember that you have to keep moving forward. If you stay chained to the past, to mistakes and pain, then you'll never change. You'll be stuck. Permanently."

* * *

"Dr. Andrew Ryan Merlot, you have been brought before this Council today to testify to your...collaborations with Arthur Martin Watts, one of Atlas' most wanted criminals," Kiara Davis paused for a moment before going on. "This is not a trial at this time, however, you are expected and legally bound to to answer any and all questions we ask of you with the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Should you be found guilty of lying to the Department Of Justice, you will be put on trial for attempts to mislead or conspire against an ongoing investigation by the Government Council Of The Kingdom of Atlas. In such a case, anything you say here today can and will be used against you."

Merlot stared at her, and then looked around the room to the thirty other people present. "Madame Davis," He said hesitantly although the traces of his former power still remained in his voice. "Is it truly necessary to have the heads of all twenty departments, including yourself, present for this? Let alone three scribes, a judge, five high ranking officials within the Council - two of whom are military leaders? The military! Is Atlas a dictatorship?"

"No," Davis replied, her heels clicking as she paced though she sent him a sharp look even as she did so. "General Ciel and General Ironwood both hold important positions on the Council related to national defense and foreign affairs. As for the scribes, we need full and clear documentation of this hearing and, to be completely frank, we may very well need to retain you for hearings like this for several more days. And while this is not a trial at the present time, we require a judge in order to maintain order."

"But the nineteen department heads other than yourself as well as five different sub department leaders?" Merlot questioned a bit anxiously. "Surely that is unnecessary?"

"Madame Davis, if I may," Blake Adel said, coming forward and addressing Merlot personally as Kiara stepped aside. "Dr. Merlot, the wide variety of subjects for which we need information from you come from equally varied paradigms, hence why we are reliant on those with the knowledge and expertise to match that."

A weighted silence passed as both he and Kiara sat down amongst the other department leaders. Once a minute that to anyone present could have felt to be many more, the judge spoke.

"First, Dr. Merlot," She began calmly. "You will be questioned about your business ties to Arthur Watts by the head of the Atlesian Department Of Fiscal Affairs And Corporate Restriction, Miss Adeline Carrington."

Merlot nodded once as Carrington stood up to her full, reasonably intimidating height of 5'9''. "Of course."

"Dr. Merlot," Carrington said, her voice perfectly clipped from years of work on the Council. "It is the basic understanding of this Council that in the last twenty years you have maintained some form of contact with Arthur Watts ranging from, and changing over time, direct work, collaborations, and funding to simply the giving of information. Can and will you confirm or deny that?"

Merlot was silent for a moment, but then sighed. "Yes, I can. I did, in fact, have such a relationship with Dr. Watts."

Carrington clicked her tongue. "Arthur Watts' title was revoked by the DSAEO eighteen years ago upon the uncovering of his unethical practises and scientific work."

Merlot looked down in shame upon her words. "My apologies, Miss Carrington."

"Now that you have confirmed your association," Carrington said, giving him a sharp look. "We have obtained official business documents between you and Watts. One of which is from just two years ago."

Merlot looked up suddenly, his eyes wide. "I beg your pardon?"

Carrington stepped towards him and set down a copy of the transaction in front of him. "This was difficult to come across because of the way in which you'd secretly set up a shell corporation in order to transfer documents to Watts regarding secrets you'd obtained about the Atlas Council and Atlesian national security. Things such as this have allowed him easy access in and out of the kingdom undetected, and it has also allowed him to bring others in and out of the kingdom. Including Cinder Fall."

Merlot took in a sharp breath as he looked over the paper. "Yes, Miss Carrington, I did this. I did in fact send him this information in transaction for several million dollars which he received from Jacques Gele-Schnee."

"In short, the purpose of this was monetary gain, then?" Carrington questioned, and he nodded curtly. "You purposefully took Atlesian government secrets to one of its greatest threats for your personal gain?"

Merlot looked down in shame once more. "Yes, Miss Carrington."

A silence passed between them and hung over the entire room before the judge spoke once more.

"I will ask that the head of the Atlesian National Security Council, Madame Elizabeth Morell, come forward," The judge said, motioning for Carrington to sit down as Morell stood up. "As Madame Morell is familiar with the information and the consequences of sharing it."

"Dr. Merlot," Morell started, a clear note of haughtiness in her voice. "Tell me, are you aware of the consequences, legally, that you could face for hacking into the Council, providing Watts with the information to do so, etc?"

"Yes, Madame Morell, I am fully aware," Merlot said, clipping his tone as he went on.

"As Miss Carrington has covered the issues regarding your motives and the actions themselves, I should like to inquire into ethics and the funding that you gave Watts, regardless of the fact that he has given you monetary reimbursement for aid in the past," Morell sent him a sharp look under which he nodded. "To start, were you aware of the projects you were funding and the ethical conundrums that were a part of them?"

"For most of the projects, I was unaware," Merlot said, examining his hands and picking at his nails. "That can and I imagine will be proven when those documents and communications are obtained and brought to light. However, there was one project of which I was aware of and actively aided."

Morell raised an eyebrow. "Might that be the quote un quote Gene Editing Endeavour which Watts undertook not only to learn how to alter the germline of the human and the faunus as well as lesser beings but to cross the DNA, in the germline and in the somatic, of a human and the grimm?"

Merlot shifted to look her straight in the eye, a shift which caused Elizabeth to visibly flinch and break eye contact almost immediately.

"Yes," He said almost tonelessly. "I believed we were going to be able to better humanity, and in that the faunus, but we ended up creating multiple forms of grimm. Several of these were merely superior species of what already existed, but one of them was a new species that was a crossbreed between a human and the grimm. Only a couple hundred ended up being created both through our experiments and the procreation of the creatures, and they were, in shadows and without the knowledge of the man to whom obtained them, sold in Mistral. Their current numbers, I'm afraid, are not something I can provide. I do believe, however, that this species is known to all four kingdoms, albeit barely whispered about, as the apathy."

Morell took in a deep breath as she went on. "Yes, that is the case. But tell me, Dr. Merlot, why fund such a project when you were aware of the violations to international ethics laws? Under the sanctions on experimentation, the Vytal Union, of which all four major kingdoms are a part of, human experimentation is limited and only approved in extreme circumstances that must be reviewed by each individual government council. While the clause is broad and up for interpretation, you must have known that none of the kingdoms would find such work acceptable."

"Madame Morell," Merlot said, sighing heavily. "The grimm are much stronger than us and always have been. I wanted to create my, shall we say, _lusus naturae_ to prove that point. I was attempting to make a statement, not to cause one of the largest ethical scandals in modern history. Although I will refer you to the fact that the kingdom of Atlas broke those sanctions about ten years after the end of the Great War in its genetic experiments."

"Every single kingdom in the world has broken those sanctions, including the minor kingdoms," Morell reminded him. "But, yes, that is true. However -"

"Madame Morell," Merlot said, cutting her off as respectfully as he could. "What I did with my statement was, in hindsight, a grave mistake but at the time I was trying to prove that the fools that we always place in power were trying to halt my dreams but would ultimately fail. Watts and I have both proven that."

Morell stiffened, her eyes narrowing as she stop pacing and, in the centre of the room, scowled at Merlot. "So you are saying that you disregard ethics laws for self promotion?"

"I did," He corrected. "But, yes."

"Dr. Merlot, you understand the gravity of what you have done, do you not?" Elizabeth questioned, and he nodded curtly. "You have aided and abetted one of the most dangerous men in the world, one of the most wanted criminals not only in the kingdom of Atlas but in your home kingdom of Vale as well. Jacques Gele-Schnee was recently convicted of similar crimes and various others that he committed personally in business, and he was given a life sentence in prison for what he has done to undermine this kingdom and to aid a man who seeks nothing more or less than the destruction of what we all value. Do you have any reason to believe anything you have done is right?"

"As it happens, I believe I did what I thought was right but I did it with the wrong person," Merlot replied irritably. "I am just as much of a victim in this case as everyone else who has been affected by these things. Everyone in this room, in this kingdom, in this world. I am just as much of a victim as they are."

"Dr. Merlot, we all will still have many, many, many questions remaining after this first day of testimony," Elizabeth said, then shaking her head. "But you should know that the world is disgusted by the work you have aided, by the work you have done yourself. This Council, the people in this room, and myself are disgusted with you for what you have done because at the end of the day, arguably, you have endangered us all through your selfishness. This world is a dangerous place, and you have only aided in making it more dangerous. You are not a victim, you are looking for a way out and I can imagine that no matter what you are able to provide that it will not outweigh the sins you have committed against all of us, against the entire world. I hope you know that."

Merlot hung his head shamefully. "Yes, Madame Morell."

* * *

"I hate being a teenager," Caitlin Morell muttered to Cas, Grace, and Genevieve as all four of them climbed up into the window seats in their high school's dining hall. "And I really hate being a teenager whose parents have access to classified information she's not allowed to look at."

Genevieve rolled her eyes. "I thought you just hated being only 5'3'' when I'm 5'7'' and Grace is 5'6''."

Cas stuck out her tongue. "Hey! I'm only 5'2''!"

"See?" Genevieve said with a smirk. "At least you're taller than Cas."

Caitlin sighed, blowing on her bangs and raking her fingers through her frizzy bronze waves. "You know I really like knowing everything."

"No one can really know everything," Genevieve countered. "So your argument is invalid."

"Well, I like knowing as much as possible," She replied, taking a sip of water and then nibbling on her sandwich. "Y'all can understand that, right?"

"Of course we can," Grace said. "I think we all feel that way, to some extent."

"Why do you care so much today?" Cas asked her as she adjusted her glasses. "I mean, usually you don't care all that much."

"Because Merlot's first day of testimony today," Caitlin reminded her. "And it's being talked about on all three of the major news networks and I just want to know what's going on. _All_ of it."

"I forgot about that," Cas said, rubbing her neck. "Since my parents won't talk much about work at home."

"Mine won't either," Caitlin sighed as she went on. "Which makes me curious."

"Your dad isn't home all that much, and even when he is he's usually working," Grace said, a bit hesitantly as she knew the sensitivity of the subject. "Why is it -"

"I don't know!" Caitlin finally exclaimed, her green eyes flaring for a brief moment and only emphasised by her dark lipstick and eyeliner in comparison to how pale she was as always. "I guess maybe I'm just stressed and dealing with that comes most easily from knowledge!"

"Well, at least we have the winter holidays starting tomorrow," Genevieve said, and she nodded. "And your family is traveling through various parts of Vale for it. That'll be fun."

"We don't leave until the twenty fourth," Caitlin said, then shaking her head. "You know what, maybe you're right. I just shouldn't worry about these things and just refocus on my art and my music."

"The cool thing about your art and music is just how well you capture what you see and what you think," Cas remarked, and Caitlin smiled weakly as she looked down at her feet and tugged on the long sleeves of her stripped, high collar, button down, and front tied shirt. "You're really talented, you know that, right?"

"I guess," She said, biting her lip. "I try, anyways."

"Hey, I've got a great joke I should tell you guys," Grace said, laughing as she pulled out a small box from her purse. "My mom has these because my dad cut his finger, and I brought in the box as a gag."

Caitlin raised an eyebrow in confusion as she looked at the box. "Finger cots?"

"Or as my mom calls them, elf condoms," Grace smirked as she went on. "Genevieve, care to pull them out of the box?"

Genevieve laughed as she took the box from her and pulled out one of the wrapped finger cots. "Oh my god, they're even rolled like condoms!"

"Let me see one," Cas said, grinning as Genevieve passed her one. Unwrapping it quickly, she pulled it over her finger. "Well, now I'm protected. I should bring it home and tell my parents if they have an elf to give it to them because protection is good."

"Give her a few more wrapped ones," Grace told Genevieve, giggling. "God, I can't wait to hear all about how Emmett and Emmeline react to this."

"Finger cots…" Caitlin said, looking at them funnily but with a hint of wariness. "Well, I guess that elves should be able to partake in safe sex practises too."

Cas burst out into laughter. "I love how seriously you can say things like that even if they're ridiculous."

Caitlin smirked. "There are many oxen in my bed, many, many oxen."

Grace covered her face as she laughed. "That might be one of the best Sheldon quotes ever, and in the show he said that in a foreign language and those words were the subtitles."

"It was funny because he thought he was complaining about the state of the food he was getting from a restaurant," Caitlin said, smiling as she went on. "But nothing beats the episode where Raj, Howard, and Leonard accidentally got high while camping."

Genevieve shrugged. "Yeah, it's hard to beat Raj talking about what he'd be like if he were the king of rabbits because he could speak their language."

"Welcome to Atlas," Cas said with a grin.

Grace nodded. "Atlas: the kingdom of the weird and the free."

Caitlin giggled. "And we all know that goes deep. We certainly represent that."

"Our families too," Cas said, sighing. "Always fighting back."

Caitlin shared a long look with her, and then shook her head. "On the surface it looks perfect, but underneath it's just a perfect storm. I think we're all like that, at our core. After all, it's not as if we know how to win a losing war."


	52. Chapter 52

_**December 26th  
Argus-Atlas Military Base  
City Of Argus  
Mistral  
7:34 PM**_

"So, you're Winter Schnee," A derisive, condescending voice said as she stepped into the room. "I'm the commanding officer of this base, Specialist Caroline Cordovan."

Winter stiffened at her tone. "Of course, although it's Specialist _Branwen_ -Schnee."

Cordovan paused, turned to look at her, and raised an eyebrow. "Branwen? Like that Qrow Branwen who is known for being a drunken huntsman who believes he's friends with General Ironwood?"

"I would not exactly call them friends, but they are acquaintances," Winter said, rather tight lipped. "And, yes, that is correct."

Cordovan's eyebrow rose even higher up her forehead. "You are in a conjugal relation with _Qrow_ Branwen?"

Winter smiled tightly. "If you should like to put it that way, I suppose, but I believe that _married to_ is a much better way to describe my relationship with Qrow Branwen."

Cordovan shook her head. "Specialist... _Branwen_ -Schnee, my apologies if I offended you but you are aware of the fact that you are the daughter of one of the most important women in society -"

"I do not want to discuss my family," Winter said abruptly, placing her hands on her sword to steady them. "Not only because it's not relevant, but because -"

"I was only saying that I pity your mother, I do not understand your father, and that I think you could have done better," Cordovan sighed. "But I suppose not everyone has the proper sense that I do."

"Specialist Cordovan, I am not here to be lectured about my personal life by you just because I'm a Schnee," Winter said, a bit of ice entering her voice. "I am here on orders from General Ironwood to look into whatever information you might have here that relates to the search for Arthur Watts, Cinder Fall, and, as Dr. Merlot's hearings continue, anything pertinent that arise from his statements."

Cordovan bristled at the mention of Merlot. "Dr. Merlot...that crazy Valerian scientist who has, and apparently continues to, tell people how superior the grimm are to us because of their...unbridled, raw aggression."

"He is, at the very least, cooperating with authorities in Atlas," Winter said, her voice the definition of neutrality. "Not that, I imagine, one could get away with lying to Adeline Carrington, Blake Adel, Elizabeth Morell, Karissa Mar, Kiara Davis, Tara Sparks, Katharine Alyy, Eleanor Violetta, Cristina Jennings, Steven Immergrun, Irabella Carrington, Rozovyy Arc, Ariel Vedette, Winifred Zele, Arthur Blanechur, Shawn Pana, Ronnie Ciel, Lacey Svet, Renee Hale, Martin Vse, Blaisse Winchester, Reva Flores, General Ironwood, General Ciel, and Dr. Brianna Oobleck."

Cordovan's steps ceased as she turned to look at the much taller woman. "Merlot's hearings are a big enough of a deal that they've pulled all twenty department heads, the president's senior adviser, the chair of the Atlesian National Security Council, the treasury secretary, the head of the investigative committee, and one of the top members of the CIA?"

Winter nodded curtly. "In fairness, it makes sense -"

"Yes, it makes sense, of course," Cordovan said, still adjusting from her surprise. "But General Ironwood is still one of the top members of the CIA, General Ciel is the head of the investigative committee, while while Dr. Brianna Oobleck...well, she's President Ciel's most senior advisor."

"Apparently the Council deemed this to be a serious enough of an issue to deal with it during a shutdown," Winter said, then shaking her head. "Not that, of course, Madame Morell was unjustified in aiding the testimony as much as she could in person before taking a leave of absence with her husband and family."

Cordovan pursed her lips. "I've never particularly liked Morell. She might be the chair of the security council now but, and I don't mean to be offensive, she was a journalist and she was hardened by what that Ashlynn Schnee did to her. She's a tight, irritable woman who has more issues than most, and that is concerning considering her position."

"Madame Morell is not that bad," Winter said as they stepped into the central command and Cordovan snapped her fingers, summoning two guards to her side quicker than Winter could have imagined. "I am aware that she has her own issues, but we all do -"

"Pull the most recent records from that one town relating to Little Miss Malachite and those two women she was talking with, the shady one and the one with the odd hair," Cordovan said, and the guards did so. Turning to Winter, she sighed. "These are from several months ago, I'm afraid, but they're the only direct records we have of Ashlynn Schnee here with the girl we believe is the twenty years gone Nicole Ciel."

Winter stared at her in surprise. "Nicole Ciel? The youngest of President Ciel's four children, the one who was kidnapped at six years old and never found? You believe that you've come across her?"

"Her heterochromia was always distinctive, one brown and one pink eye," Cordovan said shortly. "That and her functional muteness. She had, correction _has_ , the ability to speak but she's refused to use it for the majority of her life. Why is beyond anyone, considering that the Ciels tried to help her but it never worked. If she is indeed still alive after that kidnapping, then I can believe that she would have no desire to overcome her functional muteness even if she could."

Winter nodded once. "Have you sent this information forward?"

"No," Cordovan said, pausing for a long moment but then going on. "I believe we all know how the Ciels would react if they found out Nicole might still be alive. President Ciel lost his wife six years ago to an horrible accident on a military mission, his youngest son is a drug addict, and his two eldest are the only ones in his family who are truly alright although I imagine it was a great shock for General Ciel when she found out that her husband was still alive. Her sister in law too."

 _Ozpin bringing them back was a shock to all of us_ , Winter thought a bit tensely. _And it was more than unexpected._

"But, regardless," Cordovan said, shaking her head once more. "I cannot stand Madame Morell. To be honest, she's not a very nice woman. She refuses to stop anything until she has her way, she claims that the only reason she recommended three years ago, when she was able to have Ashlynn Schnee locked up, to make me the commanding officer of this base was because, I quote 'Cordovan has a stick up her ass further than anyone else, and I think we all can agree that it would be nice to get her as far from the kingdom as possible.'"

"Morell didn't come up with those words on her own," A time weary voice said as she entered the room. "And it seems that your security isn't all that great, if I can get past it easily with my -"

"Maria Calavera," Cordovan said, a higher note of irritation in her voice as she turned to face the woman. "I imagine you want to get into Atlas to have those eyes of yours repaired?"

Maria smirked. "Well, why else would I request to go to Atlas? Why else would I be here?"

"You'll be taking her back with you in a few days," Cordovan said, addressing Winter but then turning back to Maria. "I see that the witch has finally acknowledged that she needs other people."

"I genuinely take offense to that, Cordo," Maria said, narrowing her technological eyes. "Or should I say _She-Devil_?"

"Good lord, still being childish," Cordovan said, crossing her arms. "And were you suggesting that you gave Morell those words when you were in Atlas to help with defending her against the things Ashlynn Schnee did to her?"

"There's no use in calling someone by a name they refuse to answer to anymore," Maria replied. "If you're going to discuss her, then call this dead Ashlynn Schnee by her true name, which is Cinder Fall."

Cordovan tensed. "I should think not."

"Coward," Maria remarked, then looking to Winter. "Madame Morell is brilliant, isn't she? Always knowing the right thing to say and do, even if she sometimes needs a bit of prompting."

"Morell is often wrong, at least about people she chooses to hate," Cordovan said bitterly as she brought Winter the rather large file filled with physical copies of information. "The very top one is the photograph we have of Nicole Ciel. We actually have her detained here, and we're just waiting for the DNA test results to come back in a day or two."

"How on earth did you manage that?" Maria tilted her head inquisitively. "I can't imagine it being ethically."

Cordovan snorted. "You have much to learn about Atlas. Ethics are our highest priority."

"That's rather strong rhetoric coming from a woman who fails to acknowledge that her kingdom fucked up in bringing a sentient android to the Vytal Festival," Maria replied, sending Winter a sympathetic look soon after. "No offense to you, dear."

Winter sighed as she opened the file. "No offense taken."

"That," Cordovan said, pointing to the photograph of a petite woman in pink, white, and chocolate brown holding an umbrella and wearing a bowler hat with a feather in it. "Is Nicole Ciel. In the last day we have you here, I want you to talk to her even if she doesn't talk back, because if the -"

"Specialist Cordovan!" An overtly zealously guard shouted as he came into the room. "I have the results of the DNA tests! They just -"

"Give those to me," Cordovan ordered, and he did so. "What page does -"

"The first six pages are the detailed analysis of her fingerprints, her DNA, and the breakdown of her genetics, etc," The guard said. "The seventh page has her results."

"Commander," Winter said cordially as she looked back at the photograph of the woman. "This looks like Roman Torchwick's ally, Neopolitan or Neo."

Cordovan took in a sharp breath but then shook her head as she looked at the DNA results. "I'm afraid, Specialist Branwen-Schnee, that Nicole Ciel and Neopolitan, sorry _Neo_ , are one in the same."

Winter shook her head and tucked the file under her arm. "We have to inform the president and his family."

"I am aware," Cordovan said tensely. "But not right now. We'll wait."

"Until when?" Maria questioned, half amused.

Cordovan scowled at her but then sighed heavily. "I will send the report forward late new's eve. They'll receive it in the morning when the government completely reopens because it's funded once more and no longer shutdown."

"That's a lovely way to start off the new year," Maria said dryly. "I can't wait to hear all about it."

* * *

"They're little cuties," Allison said as she tickled Alyssa Ironwood who giggled. "Both of them, really."

"They keep both of us up at night," Glynda said, laughing a bit. "Which I imagine is harder for James than it is for me considering that I don't go back to work until next March."

"Well, at least they're reopening Beacon within two years like they said they would," Allison said, and Glynda sighed. "It's better than more delays, anyways."

Allison gave her a sympathetic look. "I know that it's been hard on you with everything that's happened. Honestly, it's been hard on all of us."

"I can imagine that," Glynda said as she continued to nurse her son, Edward Ironwood. "But with the two of them, now, I have more to worry about than just Beacon and James."

"It's going to be alright," Allison assured her. "Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. I have four kids, and one of them was born just after my business started to take off and my husband found out about...well…"

"Nothing about that year was easy," Glynda said, and Allison nodded. "I know. It was difficult for all of us to deal with what happened with your family, with Emmett and Cristal, etc. But things, at least, got better."

Allison laughed dryly. "If by better you mean me bruising a rib a little while back because of a woman working closely with my father and Salem, my husband losing quite a bit of mobility from his left shoulder down because of my father shooting him a few years ago…"

"And I keep trying to tell you that it's not a big deal," Blake said as he and James both came into the room. "At least anymore. Things have gotten better, Allie, and our family is perfectly fine."

Glynda smiled as James sat down next to her and gently wrapped an arm around her waist. "Didn't you have another day trying to get more information out of Merlot?"

"Yes," He said, smiling as she handed him their now sleeping son who had finished nursing. "But we adjourned early because we started around nine this morning and another day of twelve straight hours of questioning would have been overkill. To be honest, I'm jealous of the Morells."

Blake rolled his eyes. "Right now? Yeah, I think we all are."

Allison giggled. "You're usually jealous of them for some reason."

"Well, either way," Blake said, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. "I'm glad I got to see you at a good time and not wake you up at eleven or midnight just to talk."

Allison scowled. "I thought we agreed we wouldn't discuss those nights."

"I'm not sure I want to know why," Glynda said as she carefully took her daughter into her arms. "I've known both of you for years, and you two are more openly affectionate than most people are which, in case you hadn't noticed, is why most of our friends get skittish when the two of you start a sentence with the words 'so, last night…'"

Blake blushed as he shared a look with his wife. "Allie and I are not as bad as you all make us out to be."

"Most of the time," James said with a smirk. "Most of the time."

Blake shrugged, placing his right hand on his wife's shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with the way Allie and I are with each other."

"Never said that," Glynda reminded him. "You're extrapolating, as you often do."

Allison glanced to her husband before smirking herself. "And you and James aren't affectionate? I'm sorry, but if I recall, there was an entire incident of the two of you getting distracted by each other and showing up late to a meeting -"

"I think that's happened more than once," Blake added mischievously, his green eyes sparkling humorously as he looked to his teammates. "If the two of you want to complain about us, fine, but at least Allie and I have never had sex in an elevator and been late to meetings because of it."

Both Glynda and James flushed, sharing an awkward look.

"Blake!" She exclaimed after a moment of processing exactly what they had said. "Al! Really, in front of -"

"Your kids aren't going to remember this, they're only a few weeks old," He reminded her, and she groaned. "Besides, one of them is asleep and the other looks like she's leaning in that direction."

James sighed. "You've always been the most blunt of all our teammates, haven't you?"

"No, I think you or Cristal win that," Blake replied. "I think Emmett and I are the most shameless, and you and Cristal are the most blunt, while Glynda is the most adept."

"I'll agree with that," Glynda said with a faintly amused smile. "And I know you and Emmett are the most shameless. I can still remember the Halloween during our fourth year when the two of you both wore slinky dresses that shocked your girlfriends."

"Wives," Blake corrected, causing Allison to giggle. "And we looked damn good in them! We had them custom made -"

"A sign of how rich both of you were and remain," Glynda laughed and then rolled her eyes as she adjusted her glasses. "Although Allison thought -"

"I know, I thought Emmett had paid for his dress because he's a Schnee and I didn't know the true nature of Blake's finances until we were engaged," Allison sighed. "Don't remind me of how I reacted to that."

"You were adorable," Blake said, kissing her cheek. "Not that it's hard for me to find you to be that."

"All I'm saying," Glynda said, smirking. "Is that you two are definitely shameless because you both wore those slinky dresses in front of Al and Emmeline, although the look on Emmeline's face was the most priceless thing I've ever seen."

"You should have seen how her father reacted," Allison said, and James couldn't help but laugh a bit. "I remember him shaking his head, since at that point he was a political representative and not yet a senator for the province of Contraire, the province we live in, at the time, and asking Emmeline to 'please polish him up, he needs help.'"

"He was _probably_ joking," Blake said, then winking. "But you never know."

"That seems to be a common thread nowadays," James remarked, much more seriously. "If you consider things from a more holistic perspective."

"There's always uncertainty," Glynda said, then sighing heavily. "Nothing's ever really going to be certain, no matter how damn close we come to it."

* * *

"I think," Yang said as she stared at the ceiling. "That sometimes the world is filled with more idiots than it's not."

Ruby giggled. "You want to play Zork?"

Yang gave her a funny look. "Zork?"

"Don't fall for it," Blake warned her, turning around in the swivel chair. "It's a bad plan."

"What's a bad plan?" Qrow asked, stepping into the main area of the flat that he was paying for the team. "If it has anything to do with blowing things up, then I don't recommend it."

"...Or defenestrating someone," Caitlin Morell said through Weiss' computer through which the two girls had been speaking. "...Besides, defenestration sounds like -"

"It's around six in the morning where you are," Qrow remarked as he glanced towards the computer. "I can't imagine Elizabeth liking you being awake."

"...I woke her up," Elizabeth said, stepping into the frame with her hair up in a towel but her makeup and clothes otherwise pristine. "...Michael and Jack are having breakfast, but I let her sleep in and I figured that one video call to a friend in Atlas wouldn't be too big of deal, even on my work laptop."

"Aren't you concerned she'll stumble upon government secrets?" Qrow asked her, and Elizabeth shook her head. "And why is your hair -"

"...Because I showered and then got dressed and did my makeup like I always do," Elizabeth replied. "...I am glad you didn't know that, though."

Qrow grimaced. "Gross, thanks for the imagery, Liz."

"...And I'm keeping an eye on her, she's not doing anything she shouldn't be," Elizabeth said a bit haughtily. "...Besides, my sensitive and classified information is password protected and closed right now."

Qrow sighed. "Caitlin, what the hell would someone need to defenestrate someone for?"

Yang shrugged. "Defenestrating is throwing someone out a window, so I suppose that -"

"...The answer is simple," Caitlin said with a smirk, her green eyes sparkling mischievously. "...Duel with someone or a fight in a building that's low."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and affectionately ruffled her daughter's long, bronze waves. "...Cute, Caity, cute."

Caitlin immediately went to adjust her blunt bangs and rake her fingers through her hair. "...Mommy!"

"...Sorry," Elizabeth said, gently embracing her. "...I know how you're a perfectionist."

Caitlin shrugged but then turned back to Weiss. "...We'll talk later, okay?"

Weiss nodded as she signed off the call and closed her laptop. "Okay."

A short lived silence passed amongst them until Yang shot a spitball up onto the ceiling.

"Yeah!" She exclaimed, standing up and punching her fist into the air. "That was a direct hit."

"Yang," Qrow said slowly, setting down his flask and putting his hands up in mock surrender. "That's gross, not a direct hit."

She stuck out her tongue. "Says the man who thinks licking a blender makes it is. I'm just glad that you and your wife didn't get dad's blender as a wedding gift."

"My sister would never put anything in anything that's been licked by anyone," Weiss said, crossing her arms as she sat down in one of the beanbags next to Ruby who playfully punched her in the arm. "And she certainly wouldn't -"

"Your sister and I have done 'unspeakable' things to each other," Qrow said, crossing her arms. "I really don't think a blender would be a big deal."

Weiss reached over to the couch and threw a pillow at his head which he caught, much to her chagrin. "You're disgusting, sometimes, you know that?"

"I'm also your brother in law," Qrow reminded her, and she groaned. "Keep that in mind, Weiss."

Ruby giggled. "I'm don't think she likes that."

"I don't," Weiss said snippily. "Or, at least, I don't like him saying it."

"Yeah, yeah," Qrow said, then smiling. "So, what's been going on with the four of you?"

"Not much," Blake admitted, rubbing her neck. "Mainly video games, relaxing, and hanging out with occasional outings into the city for walking or fun since we can't take any training missions right now."

"Well, you don't go back to Atlas Academy until the Spring," Qrow shrugged as he went on. "At least in your fourth year you'll be able to go back to Beacon. Seems like Oz and Glynda are going to go back to running the school together, albeit with her teaching combat."

"I'm not too sure how Cristal's going to feel about that," Weiss interjected, and he sighed. "Considering that she's due on February 28th with their child. I know it's not until next March, but she's still the CEO and chairman of the board of the SDC, and she won't want to raise their daughter without him."

Qrow was silent for a moment but then sighed again. "I know Cristal well enough to know that she'll be fine, and that she and Oz will make things work. Emmett and Emmeline have it easier than them, though."

"No kidding," Yang said, then shaking her head. "Even Cas thinks that."

"Cas might know better than anybody," Blake added, sharing a glance with her partner. "Since -"

"You know what, guys?" Weiss said suddenly. "Can we please not talk about my family? Please? I just...it's complicated enough and I don't want to think too much about it."

Another silence passed, this time a much longer one, but it was Ruby who broke it this time.

"Of course Weiss," She said gently, giving her teammate a sympathetic look. "Sorry, we were being insensitive."

"It's...it's okay," She said, biting her lip. "You know how I am."

"Look, guys, there's something more serious we need to discuss," Qrow said sharply, looking at all of them with utmost seriousness. "Apparently, while the Atlas Council has been grilling Merlot and getting him to blab about everything, Watts and Cinder got out of the kingdom. Obviously, they're keeping that quiet because they don't want to scare people, but when someone like Davis or Morell or Mar inevitably leaks it…"

"Cinder and Watts escaped?" Yang asked, standing up suddenly and clenching her fists. "How many times can we lose -"

"Yang -" Weiss started anxiously.

"No, this is…" Yang let out an angered cry but then shook her head and wiped a tear away from her now red eyes. "When is everything going to start turning around into our favour? When are we finally going to be able to win this war? Was Ozpin really lying to us -"

"Oz made mistakes, and I'm still a bit pissed with him but he does has a plan," Qrow sharply reminded her. "And it will be okay, in the end, Yang."

She scowled, crossing her arms, and in that moment looking startlingly like her mother. "Will it be, though?" She questioned, then sighing heavily. "Or are we all going to hell because we'll be unable to reverse this curse?"


	53. Chapter 53

_**January 1st  
Location: Indeterminate  
9:13 PM**_

Salem sighed as she looked into her seer. "Yet another year begins…"

"My Queen!" Tyrion exclaimed upon bursting into the room. "Cinder, Watts, Emerald, and Mercury are here, as you requested!"

She looked up slowly as she dismissed her seer. "That," She began slowly. "Is excellent timing, Tyrion."

"Should I send them in?" He asked her, straightening himself out and keeping his tail and stinger perfectly curved. "I have them waiting just outside the doors."

Salem tilted her head in consideration. "Well…" She said pensively. "That depends on what you judge, Tyrion. Do you think that they should be forced to suffer under the weight of what I might be planning for them, or do you think they should be relieved of their...apprehensions?"

Tyrion paused, unsure of what to say.

"Tyrion," Salem said, looking pointedly at him. "What do you think?"

He turned to the doors and pulled them open, allowing the four to step into the room.

"Good," Salem said, standing up and stepping towards them. "Now, what to do with all of you…"

"I -" Cinder began quickly.

"You are the reason that we failed at Haven, Cinder," Salem said sharply, her eyes pulsing red for a brief moment as she looked at her protege. "Do not think that I have forgotten."

Cinder hung her head in shame for a moment. "I…"

"And not only that," Salem said, her anger clear in her voice. "But Emerald and Mercury are so devoted to you that they wanted to take the fall for you. Hazel attempted to, and he can attest to my...repulsion at his attempt to cover for you for reasons I cannot quite pinpoint."

"If it weren't for -" Cinder stated.

"No," Salem snapped, scowling at the former Schnee. "Do not blame others for your failure, you have only yourself to blame, _Ashlynn_."

Cinder activated her maiden powers in anger and blew out all the light in the room and leaving only the dim dark light outside. "I am not," She said through gritted teeth, her fists clenched. "That woman anymore!"

Salem raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Your loyalties truly lie with us?"

Cinder looked up and nodded once. "Yes, they do."

Salem smiled. "Good. If not, I might find myself less amused by your impetulantance."

Cinder shivered in spite of herself as Salem restored the state of the room and turned on Watts.

"And you," She said, placing a hand to her hip as she stepped towards him. "After all these years, you almost got yourself caught because of your vendetta against your family and your daughter's refusal to join our cause. That does not even take into account the fact that the Atlas Council now is more able to keep tabs on you because both Jacques Gele and Merlot have sold you out. So, I would like you to tell me...how is it that you can, knowing the consequences, continue to go after these people and manipulate them with such traceable fervour?"

Watts stared at her for a moment. "I beg your pardon?"

"I am not going to repeat myself," Salem told him, her eyes narrowing. "Answer the question."

Watts cleared his throat before speaking. "Because like so many others, I am susceptible to the human desire for power, and recognition, and I believed that what I was doing was aiding both our goals and -"

"Stop," She commanded, forcing her voice to remain eerily calm although she was slipping. "That doesn't answer what I asked of you. Allow me to rephrase: what are you really after in this?"

Watts hesitated. "The end of -"

"Don't you dare," Salem snapped, waving her hand and binding him to the spot with several grimm beneath him. "Don't you dare tell me what you think I want to hear, let go of your inhibitions and tell me the truth."

Watts struggled but then forced himself to stop and do as she asked. "To achieve the recognition in this world that I have not been given in the past and to reform my family in the way it was supposed to be."

Salem scoffed. "No family can be in the way you truly want it."

Watts let out a sigh of relief upon her releasing him. "Of course."

"However," Salem said, pausing as she went on but then pacing. "It's important not to lose sight of what drives us: love, justice, reverence...but the moment you put your desires before _my_ own, they will be lost to you. This isn't a threat, this is simply the truth. The path to your desires is only found through me, and so we must press on."

Cinder, Watts, Tyrion, Emerald, and Mercury all shared anxious looks as she turned to glare at them.

"With the kingdom of Atlas putting us in such a compromising position because of their...investigations, several high level officials and influential figures in the kingdom being connected to Ozpin…" Salem said, having forced herself to regain her calm. "And even the president being aware of some our plans, we have to be careful with our next moves there. If we had more of a choice to pause our work in Atlas, then we would. But we do not have that luxury, because of one person in particular who could sell us out to them...assuming she chooses to speak."

Cinder's eyes went wide upon Salem ordering a seer to show them a young woman with three tone hair and a pink and a brown eye sitting in what appeared to be a rather comfortable room, albeit with an aura cuff on her wrist.

"Neo…" She breathed.

"Precisely," Salem said, dismissing the image. "She'll be back on Atlesian soil by the end of the week, and we cannot afford for her to speak. Which is why we will continue to do what we can in Atlas, even if it takes much longer than some of our prior plans. But do not make the mistakes you have before, because, if you do, I will _not_ be as lenient again."

* * *

Emmeline sighed heavily as her father and two brothers followed her into the living room where Emmett, Cristal, and Ozpin already were. "What exactly is this about?"

"In a moment," He said, setting down his bowler hat on the coffee table as he sat down on one of the chairs. "This is going to be difficult for all of you to hear, and I am not particularly happy to be telling any of you, but particularly Spencer, about this."

Spencer looked down at his hands, then glancing at the crooks of his elbows even though he was wearing a jacket.

"I'm so damn confused," Cristal said, setting aside her scroll, and curling into Ozpin as best she could. "What is so shocking that you needed to tell all of us about it?"

Ciel swallowed hard but then looked to all of them. "This morning, I received a rather...interesting report from our Argus military base and its commanding officer, Caroline Cordovan. It relates to...your missing sister."

Ronnie looked at his father in surprise. "Nicole has been presumed dead by the Department Of Local And National Law Enforcement, the Department Of Central And Foreign Intelligence, and the Department Of Criminal, Civil, And Corporate Investigation for the last fifteen some odd years."

"And, much like with Emmett and Cristal," Ciel said, sending both his son and daughter in law a sharp look having forced the true story out of his eldest daughter. "They were wrong."

Spencer glanced up, his eyes wide. "What?"

"That can't be right," Emmeline said, sharing a look with Emmett. "There's no way in hell that she's alive."

"DNA tests don't lie," Ciel reminded her. "And I can forward the DNA test results to you and Ronnie although your sister will be brought into the kingdom by Winter Schnee, and Maria Calavera, on the sixth of January. We're extending her mission in Argus for the purpose of bringing your sister home."

Emmeline stared at him in shock, similar to that of her brothers. "Oh my god."

"The unfortunate thing is, though," Ciel said, glancing a bit nervously at his youngest son, Spencer, as he went on. "That it has been immensely clear that she still struggles with her functional muteness, and that she has been roped into some...to be perfectly honest...some crimes. She was very young when she was taken, if you recall, but it's clear the she remembers the basics of who she really is based on the things she has...chosen to write out to Cordovan and a few others including Specialist Schnee."

"What do you mean she was roped into 'some crimes'?" Ronnie asked, crossing his arms as he leaned back into the chair. "Dad, we all know that you can't use the power of your office to pardon her of any crimes for which she might be convicted of within this kingdom. Not without being nepotistic, something you've refused to do ever since you entered political office."

Ciel sent him an irritable look. "I know that full well, Ronnie, and I do not need you to remind me of the fact."

"That," Cristal said, sending him a sharp look as she adjusted her glasses. "Still doesn't answer the question of what the hell she's done."

Ciel buried his face in his hands, clearly both fed up and emotionally strained by the happenings of the last several days. After a long moment, he spoke.

"Cristal," He said slowly. "Can you please take a break from being you for a few minutes and allow me to explain?"

She laughed shortly. "No one's ever asked me that before."

"The truth is," Ciel started, forcing himself to look up at all of them. "That Nicole is not...she's changed quite a bit from the adorable little sister you three remember her as, and as I'm sure Emmett, Cristal, and Ozpin have heard at least a little about over the years."

"Define 'changed'," Emmett said, his tone a bit dry even as he gently pulled his wife closer to him in his arms. "That's completely ambiguous."

Ciel hesitated, but then nodded curtly. "She goes by 'Neo' which is short for Neopolitan. No surname, simply that. She knows full well that by birth she's Nicole Ciel, but she was roped into Roman Torchwick's machinations a few years ago when he found her, a scared fifteen year old, in Vale. A few more years passed, she had her twenty sixth birthday this year, for one, and just last year she was involved with Torchwick, the White Fang, and Ashlynn Schnee's plot to destroy Beacon Academy which I believe everyone in this room can attest to having made its point."

"So this entire time," Ozpin said, looking to his wife in concern as she shivered a bit out of anxiety. "Amongst others, your youngest daughter was involved in the Fall, and with quite a bit involving Torchwick, the White Fang, and Cinder?"

"Presumably Watts as well," Emmeline added, then shaking her head. "What the hell happened?"

"She hasn't divulged much," Ciel admitted, and Spencer groaned loudly. "Spencer -"

"No," He said, his voice breaking as he stood up rather suddenly with tears in his eyes. "There is no way in _hell_ that Nicole has become some sort of agent for some of the most dangerous -"

"Spencer Wyatt Ciel," Edward said sharply, giving his youngest a warning look as if he was a child still. "Calm down, this isn't supposed to be -"

"How can I calm down when I know that my sister's been manipulated into someone she's not?" He demanded, then shaking his head sadly. "How can I calm down when I know that this family's just broken?"

"Spencer," Cristal said gently, giving him a sympathetic look. "It's alright, I...I understand what you're feeling,"

He looked at her in surprise through his bleary eyes. "Really?"

She sighed. "You know how difficult things are with my estranged mother and two of my sisters without even taking into account my brother in law."

Spencer bit his lip. "I…" He started quietly. "I…"

"Spencer, if you'd just go back to -" Ronnie started calmly.

"I am not going back to rehab," Spencer said, crossing his arms and glaring at his brother. "If it hasn't helped the last three times, another isn't going to do much."

"If this is about your kids, I can take care of them," Ronnie assured him. "Brie and I can -"

"I don't want you and Brianna to take my kids from me!" Spencer snapped. "I don't want you to take my life and try to fix it yourself, I don't want to have my kids look down in shame because their father is the 'afflicted' Ciel who couldn't take care of them! I want them to see, to know that I am strong enough to take care of them myself, even with what happened to their mother, and even with -"

"There's no shame in admitting that you need help," Ronnie countered, standing up himself and briskly moving to be eye to eye with his brother. "There's no -"

Spencer slapped him, hard enough to knock his glasses of his face, but grimaced upon realising what he'd done. "You...you don't -"

"If we're going to argue," Ronnie said, his fingers grazing the pained part of his cheek as he reached down for his glasses and all but slammed them back onto his face. "Can we, for the love of all that is holy, take it outside?"

"Yes, that's a good idea," Spencer muttered as he followed his brother out onto the balcony. "Let us shout for the entire city to hear."

Emmeline sighed as they all heard the dual doors slam behind the two younger male Ciels. Allowing a bit of silence to pass between them, she finally forced herself to speak although she looked mainly to her father.

"Don't you think that was a bit harsh? Especially with how much Spencer's been hurting for years?" She shared a look with Emmett for a moment before looking to her father again. "Dad?"

"I don't know," Ciel said almost tonelessly. "I just don't know."

"Spencer's not as horrible as you act like he is," Emmett said, giving Emmeline a gentle squeeze and kissing her forehead. "He's depressed, and he's been through things that -"

"And I haven't?" Ciel challenged, sending him a sharp look. "Emmeline hasn't? Or Ronnie? Or Cristal and Ozpin? Or, to go even beyond that, the Morells and Adels? You think the rest of us haven't gone through horrible things that a person shouldn't have to? No, Spencer tries to make everyone else fight for him when no one but him can drag him to shore. The rest of us don't lock ourselves away, the rest of us fight. He doesn't, he gives into his inhibitions -"

"That's not fair," Cristal snapped, and he flinched in surprise. "Not everyone is like the rest of us, able to handle the perfect storm we're caught in."

"Again, Cristal, can you please take the time to stop being you for just a little?" Ciel questioned in exasperation. "You don't understand, even if you think you do -"

"Fuck you," She snapped, standing up a bit too quickly and swaying a bit. As soon as she was steady she stormed out of the room.

Ozpin hesitated for a moment but then quickly followed her. All but running down the hall to their room, he paused at the door through which he could hear the clicking of her heels. Shaking his head after, he carefully opened the door and stepped into the room, closing it quietly. She stopped pacing and turned to look at him upon hearing the door click shut, then tightly embracing him. He held her close in his arms, one hand trailing through her long white curls while she closed her eyes for a moment and tried to push away the ringing in her ears. With the last few days having been stressful enough on their own at work, it did not make things better to have issues arise outside of it as well and there was a part of her that felt like she was barely holding onto calm.

"That was vaguely embarrassing," She said quietly. "It's as if my ability to remain composed is slipping away."

"I don't think that's true," Ozpin said, kissing her softly and holding her close. "Chrissy, there's nothing wrong with you, if that's what you're thinking. You're fine, and I -"

"It's just…" She said, struggling with how to describe her thoughts. "I almost feel like what he was saying about Spencer...with being unable to fight against inhibitions, with locking away...it almost feels like that's who I am…"

Ozpin looked at her in concern, his brown eyes wide behind his glasses. "Chrissy, that's not true. You and I both know how strong you are."

She sighed. "I suppose…"

"It's going to be alright," He promised her as they sat down on the edge of their bed. "It will be."

Cristal hesitated but nodded. "I might be just tired and stressed. It's not as if the last few nights have been easy. I don't think she likes sleeping very much, considering how much she's been kicking me."

Ozpin wrapped an arm around her waist, giving her a gentle squeeze. "Well, hopefully she'll figure out that her mother needs to sleep."

"I'm just glad I get to work from home the next few days," Cristal murmured, resting her head on his shoulder. "It's exhausting dealing with everyone and the board and then not getting much sleep because my baby doesn't want me to. I love her, and I'm glad she'll be born soon, but I miss sleeping."

"Chrissy, if she's keeping you up then wake me up too," He told her, and she looked at him in surprise. "It's not as if I'm going back to Beacon any time soon, considering that it's going to be a year from March until it reopens."

Cristal smiled. "You sure?"

"Yes, I am," He said, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. "She's my daughter too, after all."

Cristal laughed a little. "Of course she is. She's our little Courtney Blair Schnee."

"Exactly," Ozpin pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Our baby girl."

"Oz?" Cristal said softly. "Do you really think that Courtney is going to have magic?"

Ozpin hesitated, but then nodded. "Yes, I do."

"She'll be alright though, won't she?" Cristal bit her lip. "Oz?"

"Of course she'll be alright," He swore. "I'll keep all three of us safe, Chrissy. I promise."

She sighed heavily. "Not much is really safe anymore, is it?

"I wish that wasn't the case, but it is," Ozpin said ruefully. "I wish I knew how better to fix it."

"We're doing our best," She said, biting her lip. "All of us."

"Things are getting better, but the existence of peace in any context is fragile," Ozpin squeezed her gently as he went on. "And therefore easily lost."

She sighed heavily as she curled into him. "I know…"

While the two continued to talk and slowly relax, things remained tense in the living room and on the balcony. As Ronnie and Spencer Ciel continued to argue, Emmett and Emmeline struggled to see things from Edward's paradigm no matter how he tried to explain it. Perhaps fifteen minutes or even an hour passed, unless they had looked at the time then it was difficult to say, before things came to a more somber understanding. By no means were things terribly better, but they were not considerably worse. For years, they all knew, the family was complicated and there was, like with most families, no simple solution to their problems. Still, amongst some of them there was another factor to take into account when it came to awareness, and some of them were still and, for the foreseeable future in their eyes, unaware. The storm continued to brew, and there was nothing that could prevent it for becoming something more, not within their powers.

"In my view," Ciel said, a tinge of regret in his voice. "We might be running out of time against...against Salem -"

"Dad -" Emmeline started tiredly.

"All I'm saying is that all of this is a heavy load to carry for all of us," He said, then sighing. "You really don't think that we're all _not_ at risk for being one...shall we say ' _rainy night'_ away from losing everything that we love?"

"It's not that bad," Emmett said, biting his lip and resting a hand protectively over his wife's curve. "In case you hadn't noticed, things have been getting better."

"And She's still out there," Ciel reminded him. "Plotting whatever she may be. We all know her end goal."

"Making humanity crumble under her feet," Emmeline said, and he nodded. "That's always been her goal, though."

"Salem's more complex than any of us want to give her credit for being, though," Ciel said, hesitating for a moment as he went on. "She has a personal, deeply rooted hatred against Ozpin because she blames him for what the gods did to her, she blames him for the death of her daughters despite knowing that it was she who struck the blow against them -"

"That doesn't negate what she wants at her core," Emmeline countered. "It doesn't negate the fact that she wants to damn us all."

"She's not going to," Emmett said, although he himself was not nearly as confident as he pretended he was. "We're going to be alright, I know we will be."

"We might be," Emmeline said quietly. "The rest of humanity, though...the fate of the majority of the world hangs in the balance because of her."

"That's always been the case," Ciel said, glancing out at the night. "Considering how she's always dealt with the world. As far as we've known, she's always gone after one thing and only one thing because, at the end of the day, she -"

"Who are you talking about?" Ronnie asked as he came back inside, a jaded Spencer following him irritably. "Dad, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Ciel said, although this was clearly a lie. "Or at least, like all of us, still treading water."

"What?" Spencer said in confusion. "The hell does that mean?"

Ciel paused but then shook his head. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing, or at least nothing that anyone else should be concerned about. It's not worth it, not now."


	54. Chapter 54

_**January 6th  
Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council  
Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action  
Atlesian National Security Council  
Security Level: Maximum  
Necessary Security Clearance: Maximum  
2:35 PM**_

Elizabeth Morell stared at Emmeline in shock. "Nicole Ciel was found? After all these years, she's been found and brought back into the kingdom? Maria Calavera coming back into Atlas for her own safety I can understand, but Cordovan and her...sycophants finding Nicole Ciel is beyond me."

"I saw her earlier," Karissa informed her. "Briefly, but it was her."

"More to the point is the result of the DNA tests," Kiara said, looking over them herself. "Everything in here shows that she is Nicole Ciel, and, even though we're rerunning the tests here and will get the results back in an hour or so, that in and of itself means that her being found is going to be an even bigger deal."

"She might not be the same," Ronnie Ciel warned. "In fact, I'd be surprised if she isn't, and she's my sister."

"She was six years old when she was taken, and that was twenty years ago," Blake sighed as he went on. "Yes, that would make sense, but what is more concerning is the things that she has done."

"I agree," Elizabeth said, folding her arms across her chest. "There is a reason we are detaining her for psychological evaluation and giving whatever statements to the Council that she wants to."

"That's reasonable," Emmeline agreed, albeit probing her forehead. "Is this really how we have to live now, waiting for the next shoe to drop?"

"I'm not quite sure," Kiara said, going silent for a moment before going on. "But things like this are why important issues, like Merlot, are being dealt with slower. With the government no longer shut down because the legislature couldn't seem to formulate a funding plan that could be agreed on by both parts, we no longer have the...I suppose luxury of having full scale hearings because the case is not that high profile under normal circumstances."

"It is high profile," Blake reminded her. "For clarity's sake, but I agree that we'd be fucking around if we tried that."

"Because much gets done on the Council under normal circumstances," Karissa said dryly. "Of course, that makes sense."

"It's not for a lack of trying," Ronnie said, sending her a sharp look. "It's primarily because of the divisions along political lines that have become more present in recent years but especially because of the Fall Of Beacon last October."

"There's quite a bit that contributes to division, but that's not the point," Elizabeth said, a bit of strain becoming clear in her voice. "We have quite a few situations we need to deal with, and, frankly, a shocking amount of them tie into Nicole Ciel somehow.'

Ronnie sighed. "I'd rather not think too much about my sister's confused loyalties."

"Well, we can't ignore the truth," Emmeline said irritably, although she too was uncomfortable with the truth. "It is undeniable that Nicole was present and involved with the Fall Of Beacon, there are heavy links to her being involved with the events surrounding the first attack on the City Of Vale at the beginning of the Vytal Festival, and she has direct ties to Cinder Fall and Roman Torchwick -"

"Not to mention Watts," Blake said, a note of bitterness in his voice. "She may have been drawn into those circles, but she also chose to stay, now didn't she?"

"Yes, she did," Emmeline agreed. "But we don't quite know what happened to cause her to separate even for a little. It could have been the Fall alone, but that's not -"

"Something that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt," Kiara finished, and Emmeline nodded. "I'm afraid that only getting her to speak or at least communicate in some way on the topic can explain that to us."

"And," Elizabeth added. "Once that has happened, I believe several departments, including, I imagine, the DFAMA, DCCCI, DCCCP, DLNLE, and the DCFI, will either want to speak with her or even put her on trial for her involvement in one of the largest acts of terrorism in recent years."

Ronnie looked to Ariel Vedette, the head of the DCFI. "Are you -"

"I have no intention of having my department sue her in criminal court," Vedette said, tossing her pink hair over her shoulder. "However, the Department Of Central And Foreign Intelligence may very well have quite a few questions for her that are still unanswered when the time comes for us to receive statements from her."

Ronnie turned to Cristina Jennings. "And -"

"Like Miss Vedette," Jennings said stiffly. "My department, the DCCCI, is more interested in hearing, or reading, what she has to say rather than putting her on trial at this time."

"And considering that you are the head of the State Department," Elizabeth said, giving Ronnie a sympathetic yet sharp look. "You ought to, like General Ciel has done because she's the head of the DFAMA's investigative committee, recuse yourself from all matters relating to the direct affairs pertaining to your sister."

Ronnie sighed. "Madame Morell, I will -"

"Then there's not a problem," She said. "Since you're not risking becoming the subject of an investigation into obstruction of justice because of your desire for your sister to be kept out of prison."

Ronnie went silent, unable to object to her words.

"Still," Emmeline said, breaking the tense silence. "With all of this and Watts and Cinder's locations uncertain once more, we becoming more and more split amongst varied concerns, however tied they may be."

"That is concerning," Blake said, then shaking his head. "What is more concerning, though, is how they've been silent, how they haven't done anything in the last few weeks. Not directly, anyways."

"It is odd," Kiara said, biting her lip. "But not entirely unexpected."

"What it is," Karissa said, sharing a knowing look with Elizabeth. "Is strategic. They stunned several of the people in this room with that stunt they pulled at the beginning of December, and their plans, we know, are much larger than they've ever been willing to let on. They know what they're doing, they're simply laying low for the moment because they're waiting a moment of perceived peace to shatter."

Elizabeth tugged on the sleeves of her blazer anxiously. "The question remains, though, what are they planning and how damning it will be for all of us. After all, the last time they had a grand shattering of peace, they destroyed Beacon Academy. Who's to say that they won't attempt to shatter everything again?"

* * *

Winter embraced Qrow tightly as soon as she stepped through the door of their apartment. "I missed you…" She murmured.

"Sounds like a lot of shit happened while you were in Argus," He said gently. "Although I can imagine more happened for the Ciels upon you returning with their missing -"

"So that's been in the news already?" She sighed upon him nodding. "Of course it has been."

"It got into the news cycle a few days ago," He told her. "And quite a few people are fascinated by it."

"Of course they are," Winter said, then shaking her head as he released her and she dragged her bags into their room. "It makes sense, but there's no chance of it not being taxing on them."

"Well, if what happened with Emmett and Cristal was any indication, that makes sense," Qrow shrugged as she began to unpack her clothes and toiletries. "Except this time she had been genuinely lost for twenty years, not dead."

"It's going to break one of them sooner or later," Winter said, pausing to look at him. "But I'd rather not think too much about it."

"Okay," He said, taking a sip from his flask and then placing it on the nightstand. "Is there anything you particularly want to talk about?"

She was silent for a moment, but then nodded. "How soon do you want to start a family?"

He looked at her in surprise. "How come, Win? Something come up at work?"

"No," She said, crossing her arms. "I'm saying that I think I'm a stable enough place in my career and, since we're married and are more than capable of taking care of a child, I'm ready, now, Qrow. I don't want to wait too much longer unless you aren't ready."

He suddenly pulled her in close and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Are you serious?"

She smiled in slight amusement. "Qrow, since when am I not serious?"

"Fair enough," He replied, pressing another kiss to her cheek. "And you know how much I want a child."

"I'm glad you've gotten past your fears," She said, and his face fell slightly. "Oh, god, Qrow -"

"There's a difference between being past fears and trying to not let them dominate you," He said, a mix of sadness and remorse in his voice. "I'm always going to be worried about hurting you or our child by accident, but I'm not going to let that tear us apart."

She stared at him. "Qrow, if it would help -"

"It helps knowing that you're okay, that you're not in pain, that you're not being pulled too far one way or another," Qrow said, cupping her cheek. "And, for now, that's all I need to know."

She sighed. "I wish you understood that you're not a curse."

"Well, I'm either a curse myself or I am cursed," He said, hesitating before he went on. "And I can't change that. There's a reason I went through quite a bit of my life with no one wanting me, and seeing the damage my semblance has caused to not only me but to others before is always going to worry. Especially considering the things -"

"You're not the person you were when you started Beacon or before that," Winter reminded him. "You've changed, and I know that -"

"Win, the man that I was disgusts me more than anyone else," He said, pulling her closer. "I was more like Raven, more like quite a few members of her tribe, than I'd ever care to admit."

"You don't have to be afraid of admitting that with me," She promised him. "Qrow, I love you and part of that is accepting and loving even the worst parts of you. I don't know how you deal with some of my issues, but you do, and -"

Qrow cut her off with a soft kiss to her lips. "I love you, Win, I really do."

She smiled. "I love you too."

"So," He said, holding her still. "When you say you don't want to wait much longer for us to have a child, what do you mean by that?"

Winter smirked. "Qrow, what do you think I mean by that?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You want to start tonight?"

"Why not?" She replied. "It's not as if it's going to hurt to."

Qrow laughed. "Seems like my Ice Queen has melted into something else."

"Oh, I am not an Ice Queen!" She exclaimed, playfully swatting his arm. "And I never have been!"

"You're the one who told me that you didn't have time for my 'immature games'," He said, putting up his hands in mock surrender. "I'm pretty sure that you're towards the top of the list when it comes to Ice Queens."

Winter groaned. "That's not funny!"

"The fact that I got you in trouble with Jimmy?" He suggested, and she scowled. "Win, how many times do I have to apologise for that?"

She considered that. "Well, that depends…"

"On what?" He asked, crossing his arms. "Please don't tell me you're keeping score on the times you and I have -"

"There's no score," She said with a smile. "God, Qrow, I was teasing you."

"Hmm…" He said, taking a step back and pretending to be deep in thought. "Well, let's see...how many times have you teased me…"

"Qrow…" Winter said, shaking her head. "Please don't make me relive the amount of times we've fought over stupid, asinine things."

Qrow shrugged and then unclasped his cape and unbuttoned his shirt, casting both aside. "Does this count as teasing you?"

She sighed. "Touche."

"I've won?" He questioned with a smirk. "That's a surprise, considering how much you usually win."

"Well," Winter said as she cast her bags off of their bed. "I would consider this a draw."

"How come?" He asked, coming over to her once more and resting his hands low on her waist. "Isn't it clear?"

"Yes, it's clear that it's a draw," She replied, her blue eyes sparkling mischievously. "Because you and I both fell in love with each other, we married, and I don't think there are ever going to be circumstances anymore in which one of us truly wins over the other."

"I see how it is," He said, kissing her for a lingering moment. "I really do love you, Win. You always know exactly what to say, now don't you?"

"I certainly try," She said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "And you should know better than anyone."

"I hope so," He said, kissing her again. "Since you are my wife, after all."

She smiled. "Exactly."

"I don't know what I'd do without you," He said, pulling her closer for a moment as he kissed her. "I really don't."

"Neither do I…" She murmured as she melted into his embrace. "Neither do I…"

* * *

Edward Ciel hesitated as he reached the door to the room in which his youngest daughter was being held. "Brianna," He said, turning to the forty six year old doctor of political science who was his most trusted advisor. "What are the chances that she'll get out of this alright?"

She considered that for a moment. "Are you sure you genuinely want me to answer that?"

Ciel stared at her in surprise, but then sighed. "Yes, I am sure."

"About the same as, and I'm sorry if this is insensitive, your youngest son making a full recovery from his addiction," She said, giving him a sympathetic look. "The most likely eventuality is that she'll provide the Council with important information, and she'll serve a lesser prison sentence for her crimes of about fifteen years, perhaps less depending on the requirements the place on her obtaining parole."

Ciel nodded once. "Alright."

"If it will be too straining, you don't have to speak to her," She reminded him. "In fact, if that's the case, then you shouldn't."

"At the end of the day, she's still my daughter, no matter what she's done," Ciel said, although it was clear in his voice that his resolve in the matter was wavering. "And I feel like I should speak to her at least once."

"That's understandable," Brianna ran her fingers through her messy green waves. "But are you completely certain on that matter?"

Ciel sighed. "Yes, I am."

Brianna motioned for the two guards nearby to come over. "President Ciel would like to speak with his daughter. I presume you've retained your senses and haven't removed that aura cuff from her wrist? It's been well documented from several sources in the last few years that her semblance is illusions which we all know could help her easily get away."

The guards shared a nervous look, but both nodded.

"Yes, Dr. Oobleck," One said, addressing her by her title.

"Dr. _Brianna_ Oobleck," She corrected. "I'd rather not get confused with my brother, Barty."

The guards both stepped forward and unlocked the door with the passcode on their scrolls and then by the third manual entry.

"Good luck," Brianna said as Ciel stepped into the room and the guards closed the door behind him.

Neo looked up in surprise, folded her arms across her chest, and then crossed her legs at the knee.

"Nicole," Ciel said hesitantly, adjusting his bowler hat nervously. "If you have no desire to speak, that's fine but I'd like to communicate with you in some way whether that's by writing or spoken word."

Neo scowled at him for a moment but then sighed heavily and took the handheld whiteboard and dry erase marker that had been left in the room for her into her hands. Making herself comfortable still in the bed that she was sitting on, she took a moment to consider what she wanted to say before beginning to scrawl it out.

"Thank you," Ciel said gently, not moving from where he stood. "I know that you might be angry at me, at all of us, but -"

Neo cut him off by holding up what she had written: _I haven't spoken a damn word in the last ten years, and it's by choice._

Ciel raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Neo grunted and erased what she had written to begin another thought.

"Nicole, what did they do to you?" Ciel asked her after a long moment of silence. "It can't have helped you, could it?"

She smacked her hand against the wall as she showed him her response: _After I was ripped away from you and mom, Roman became the only person in the world who really cared about me. That bitch, Cinder, is the reason he's dead and knowing that hasn't helped me. I'm saving my words for her, so that she can truly understand what she's done._

"Nicole, please just say one thing to me," Ciel paused, disliking how vulnerable he felt he sounded. "I know that it's never been something you've -"

"My life is nothing but an endless cycle of pain from hell," She snapped, her voice higher than average but nonetheless powerful. "Some things go deeper than water, and redder than blood."

Ciel took a small step back in shock, having not truly expected her to speak. "I…" He stuttered, struggling with how to respond. "I'm sorry."

Neo quickly scrawled out another written message: _Don't take the blame for things that aren't your fault. It's not worth it._

A weighty silence passed between them after this, father and daughter caught at an impasse.

"Nicole, there are a few things you should know," Ciel finally said. "I don't know if you already do, but I feel that I should inform you of them regardless."

She raised an eyebrow and wrote out two, simple words: _Go on…_

"First off," Ciel said, taking in a deep breath. "Your mother died six years ago during a hunting mission. Spencer lost his wife a few years ago as well, is the father of three children, and has succumbed to addiction because of how devastating her loss was to him. Emmeline is married to Emmett Schnee and they have a seventeen year old daughter and are expecting another daughter in May. Ronnie is married as well. As for me, I was elected as the president of Atlas a year and a half ago after years of work in the legislature."

Neo nodded, but then sighed heavily. Beginning to write once more, she motioned for him to continue to speak as she did so.

"Both Ronnie and Emmeline have high ranking positions in the Council, but none of us…" Ciel swallowed hard as he forced himself to admit the truth to her. "None of us will be able to intervene when and if you are put on trial for your involvement with the Fall of Beacon."

Neo shook her head as she showed him her response: _Either way, I'm not the girl you remember me as. I've done things that I regret, but I've done them to survive. Sometimes that becomes more important than anything else. And I'm not really Nicole Ciel anymore, I'm Neopolitan or Neo._

Ciel looked at her sadly. "Of course."

She gestured to the door and then wrote out a shorter set: _You didn't have to see me, you know, You don't even have to acknowledge that I'm your daughter. So, why did you?_

Ciel hesitated, but then shook his head. "I suppose it's not worth denying that, regardless with how frustrating family can be, I care about you and cannot deny that you're my child when you are. Not only is it wrong from the standpoint of it being a blatant lie, but because what happened to you was not your fault. Yes, your decisions are your own but that doesn't mean you couldn't have had a better, different life if you'd never been taken in the first place. I wish I knew how to help, or to make things better but I simply don't. I'm doing what I feel is right, consequences be damned."

Neo considered that, let out a soft, rueful hum, and responded concisely: _Because, on the surface, everything always looks perfect but it's the undertow and what it does that defines. It always is._

 **Authour's Note: Updates, until after January the tenth, will be less frequent as I will be traveling in Europe for the holidays. I'll try to get one (or maybe, _maybe_ two chapters) out during, but, as I'm on break and will be traveling through Portugal and Spain, I won't have as many chances to write. While I'm gone, though, enjoy the holidays and have fun!**

 **P.S. Here is a basic but comprehensive list of the Atlas government departments/heads, and the five other important people mentioned in regards to Merlot's hearings:**

 **Department Heads: Atlas Council**

 **Department Of Fiscal Affairs And Corporate Restriction (DFACR):** Adeline Carrington  
 **Department Of Justice (DOJ):** Blake Adel  
 **Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action (DFAMA):** Karissa Mar  
 **Department Of Local And National Law Enforcement (DLNLE):** Tara Sparks  
 **Department Of News Media Broadcasting (DNMB):** Katharine Alyy  
 **Department Of Scientific Advancement And Ethical Oversight (DSAEO):** Eleanor Violetta  
 **Department Of Criminal, Civil, And Corporate Prosecution (DCCCP):** Kiara Davis  
 **Department Of Criminal, Civil, And Corporate Investigation (DCCCI):** Cristina Jennings  
 **Department Of Health And Human Resources (DHHR):** Steven Immergrun  
 **Department Of Homeland Security (DHS):** Irabella Carrington  
 **Department Of Education (ED):** Rozovyy Arc  
 **Department Of Central And Foreign Intelligence (DCFI):** Ariel Vedette  
 **Department Of Labour (DOL):** Winifred Zele  
 **Department Of Transportation (DT):** Arthur Blanechur  
 **Department Of The Interior (DTI):** Shawn Pana  
 **Department Of Housing And Urban Development (DHUD):** Renee Hale  
 **Department Of Energy (DOE):** Lacey Svet  
 **Department Of State (DS):** Ronnie Ciel  
 **Department Of Veterans Affairs (DVA):** Martin Vse  
 **Department Of Agriculture And Commerce (DAC):** Blaisse Winchester

 **Other Leaders: Atlas Council**

 **Treasury Secretary:** Reva Flores  
 **Head Of The Investigative Committee:** General Emmeline Ciel  
 **Chair Of The Atlesian National Security Council:** Elizabeth Morell  
 **Senior Member Of The Atlesian Central Intelligence Agency:** James Ironwood  
 **Senior Security Advisor To The President Of Atlas:** Dr. Brianna Oobleck

 **Atlas (Kingdom) also has fifteen provinces, from which five senators and a total of three hundred and seventy representatives are pulled for the legislative tier of their government. The court system works in conjunction with but not under the ultimate jurisdiction of the Atlesian government.**

 **P.S.S. Look closely enough at the list, and several familiar names will pop up amongst the unfamiliar. I might, _might_ , be giving a few hints at what's to come. After all, it's not as if things happen in any universe without a purpose. Hint hint indeed.**


	55. Chapter 55

_**January 13th  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
9:37 PM**_

 _I can't breathe, wake up from this nightmare that I'm in. Dive into a holy river, and wash away my sins. As I reach, sanctified, the surface of the water, now, I will breathe and burn out my eyes. You hear the sounds, they're carried out. There's no sympathy for the dead, it swells, and I was never the same._

Spencer Ciel sighed heavily as he removed one of the earbuds from his ear and stepped off of the elevator on the third floor of one of the buildings within the vast complex that made up the Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council. He pulled his jacket closer to him, the fur brushing against his neck and soothing the chill he felt there from the slight draft. Of all of the buildings in the complex, apart from those in which legislature and the investigative and relational committees, including the DFAMA, worked out of, this was the most heavily guarded. It was for practical reasons, he knew, to keep high profile figures that were to testify under watch in attractive living conditions rather than a prison, but there was too much similarity in his mind.

Although he had never been detained in a place like this, he felt it eerily similar to rehab and the memories that surfaced proved it. The progress he had made was something he was proud of but he also found himself believing that all going back would do would give his brother his way – taking his kids from him as Spencer felt Ronnie had been wanting to do all along. Shaking himself out as he flashed his ID at the guards who promptly stepped away from and unlocked the door, he walked into the room and, for a long moment even as the door slammed shut behind hum, stood in silence as his sister stared at him in both surprise and curiosity.

"Hi, Nikki," Spencer said hesitantly, rubbing his neck. "You doing okay?"

She snorted and then gestured to her surroundings.

"I'll take that as a no," He said, and she nodded. "This place doesn't seem very pleasant to me either."

Neo smirked as she took the white board and wrote out her thoughts. _I'd imagine the only reason I'm not a real prisoner is because of who our dad is._

Spencer considered that. "Well, I suppose it's true that the Council wouldn't want to upset him by mistreating his daughter, but at the same time he's been silent on the matter, remained uninvolved, and supported Emmeline and Ronnie recusing themselves from any matters having to do with you or what the Council does with you."

Neo leaned back against the wall almost dejectedly.

"I know," Spencer said, a tinge of sadness apparent in his voice. "I don't like it either, but they're doing what is right by law even if that's not right by family."

Neo rolled her eyes at the last word.

"What?" Spencer gave her a funny look. "Nikki, that was serious."

She scrawled out two words: _I know._

"Then why'd you –" Spencer paused as he realised what she'd meant. "Oh. They're…we're not family?"

Neo shook her head.

"Then what is it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

Neo sighed and scrawled out another response: _I meant that family only comes around when they need something. I was trying not to be found because of what I've done, but I was. And, now that I need something, they're all running away._

Spencer glanced down at his hands. "Is that mainly about dad?"

Neo nodded shortly, crossing her arms.

"He's gotten that way with me too," Spencer admitted. "Especially after I quit my job a few years back."

Neo gave him a sympathetic look, and, then, much to his surprise stood up and embraced him.

"Thanks," Spencer said as they released each other. "That means a lot."

She bit her lip and nodded.

"Nikki…" Spencer hesitantly began. "Do you, by any chance, know what I went through with losing my wife?"

She hesitated, but then wrote out on the board: _Yes._

"Did dad tell you?" He asked, and she tapped the board again. "Of course he did. I assume he mentioned the…other things."

She rolled her eyes and pointed to the yes.

"I'm kind of surprised that you don't think less of me because of it," Spencer shook his head sadly. "I do sometimes, although Ronnie's done a damn good job pushing that sort of hatred into my head. Emmeline's been trying to help me, but she's going to have other things to worry about soon enough."

Neo raised an eyebrow.

"Like her baby," Spencer elaborated. "Since she's pregnant again, although she's got more than that to deal with. The Council, etc."

Neo shrugged.

"It's good to see that you haven't changed, at least," Spencer said with a smile. "Everyone else said that you would have, that you're evil."

"I'm not the same," She blurted out suddenly, then mentally cursing herself for speaking. "Spencer, I've done things you don't want to know about."

Spencer stared at her in shock. "Are you alright, Nikki?"

She paused, both her brown and pink eye wide. Then, after a moment, she shook her head.

"I'm sorry," Spencer said gently. "I really am."

She nodded.

"I know speaking is uncomfortable for you…" Spencer sighed as he went on. "If you really have changed…then I'm glad you at least said it to me rather than me having to take everyone else's word for it."

Neo considered pointing to the door to command him to leave but instead took the white board back into her hands and wrote out a longer message: _Spence, you'd be surprised by how dangerous this world is. If you think Atlas is bad in anyway, if you think Vale is too…then you haven't seen the world truly. Go outside our kingdom, go outside our closest ally after the City Of Argus in Mistral, and you'll be damned. No matter what, you are safer in Atlas than anywhere else in the world. There are people after me, and they'll be after all of our family soon enough. I've made mistakes, I've lost people I was close to…but I'm not in any worse a state than a lot of people. This world is dangerous, and it becomes more so and more so with every passing day, with every tick of the clock._

"You…you really think that?" Spencer swallowed hard when she nodded. "But –"

She smacked the lowest part of the board which he'd not read: _There are forces out there that you and no one but Ozpin can comprehend. If you have any questions, I hate admitting it but he's the man to ask._

Spencer took that in and then nodded. "Alright. I'll talk to him in a few days. Maybe I'll…maybe I'll finally understand what the hell is going on."

* * *

"And, so, we stand here today, the kingdoms of Atlas and Vale, at the site of ruin that has not snuffed out our hope. This hope, this fire, is closure for the kids that died," Emmeline said, looking over her brother's speech and pacing as he watched her nervously. "Perhaps the day in which we will be able to reconcile our differences is near, but we can never assume, we must always rely on the facts and work to resolve conflict without more bloodshed. Too many innocent lives are already lost...so we must press on."

A silence reverberated between them, first only broken by Emmeline all but slamming the paper down on the counter.

"Is it good?" Ronnie looked at his sister, trying to decipher anything she might be thinking from her face. "Em?"

"Probably not," Emmett remarked, stepping into the kitchen and beginning to brew a cup of coffee regardless of the exasperated look his wife gave him. "And it's not that bad, Emmy. I'm just...getting ready for one the baby's born in May."

Emmeline sighed. "Emmett…"

"I'm sure our baby girl is going to be more than relieved that one of her parents is able to stay up late with ease," Emmett said with a smile. "Since you need more sleep than I do, most of the time."

Emmeline crossed her arms as she turned to him. "Emmett, I'm only four months pregnant -"

"I'm still a psychic," He reminded her, and she scowled. "Alright, alright. But I was right about Cas being a girl -"

"Schnee, you're my brother in law and I'm willing to put up with a lot of shit from you, but, really, Em and I were discussing the speech I'm to give on the twenty first," Ronnie shook his head as he went on. "You do know that -"

"Ronnie, don't you think that you're being both too evasive and too direct in this?" Emmeline tiredly asked him, gesturing towards the paper on the counter. "Hope is closure for the kids that died? I suppose, yes, but…"

"Em, I know how you feel about the idea of hope being dangerous," Ronnie said, and she scowled. "But this isn't –"

"You're not inspiring false hope, that isn't the issue I have with it," Emmeline sighed again. "The truth is, Ronnie, you're trying to turn the seventeen to twenty one year olds who died into…martyrs for peace and there's something about that…it doesn't sit right."

Ronnie buried his face in his hands. "Then I don't know what to do. For fuck's sake, I'm the head of the state department not a speaker. I'm not even a normal politician, and this…this is what we're supposed to leave for people like dad."

"Well, you have to figure something out since you told the Valerian Council that you'd speak," Emmeline shook her head. "Ronnie, maybe you just need to get outside your head a little more."

"Are you kidding me?" He stared at her in shock. "Em, all I've been able to think about is how tenuous our grasp is on peace, how difficult things have been in just the Council alone, let alone what happened with Nicole –"

"And fixating on that isn't going to help," She told him calmly. "It's just not."

Ronnie considered that for a moment, and then nodded. "I suppose maybe I have been a little too absorbed in everything going on around us. Including whatever it is that dad doesn't want to tell us."

Emmeline and Emmett shared a knowing look.

"It can't possibly have anything to do with national security or defense or foreign affairs," Ronnie said, pausing as he went on. "Do you think it might have something to do with mom?"

"Alright, no," Emmeline said, giving him a sharp look. "Mom's body was found, there was –"

"I mean," Ronnie said slowly. "Do you think dad's dating someone?"

Emmeline raised an eyebrow. "I doubt that would be what he doesn't want to tell us."

"Then I'm fresh out of ideas," Ronnie said, picking up the paper, folding it, and then slipping it into his pocket. "But thanks for the help, I'll keep it in mind."

Emmett sighed as soon as his brother in law left the apartment. "I'm going to be honest, Emmy, sometimes your brother is both oblivious and a bit of an asshole."

Emmeline looked at him in surprise. "That's actually nicer than I thought you would go."

"I'm not a heartless bitch," Emmett said with a faint smirk. "Or, at least, I don't think I am."

Emmeline laughed a bit in spite of herself. "Of course you're not, Emmett."

"I'm glad someone thinks so," He replied, setting down his coffee and tightly embracing her. "And if that's my wife, then it's all the better."

"Are you trying to suffocate the life out of her?" Cristal asked in amusement as she stepped into the room. "And are you also trying to kill the life out of yourself with that coffee?"

Emmett shrugged as he turned to face his sister though he kept one arm wrapped around his wife's waist. "Depends on your definition."

"I'm never going to understand the appeal of drinking coffee late," Cristal said, adjusting her glasses. "I'm tired enough as it is, I don't want a stimulant in me to keep me up."

"Sounds like your pregnancy is finally getting to you," Emmeline noted, and Cristal nodded weakly. "It was especially rough with Cas towards the end, to be honest."

"It's not just her," Cristal said, shaking out her waist length white curls as her daughter kicked her again. "At least not directly. I'm worried about a few things at work that I need to get sorted out before I start working from home more, there's the fact that she's probably going to have magic, and I just don't know what to do."

"It'll be okay," Emmeline told her gently. "It will, just give it time"

"I hope you're right," Cristal said, biting her lip. "Especially since I'm not sure I have to confidence to believe that alone."

"If mommy's been talking at you about all this, then she's going out of her way to be a bitch," Emmett said, and Cristal sighed. "Look, she always finds new ways to freak people out and, to be honest, I think that might be part of why her marriage to daddy fell apart."

"I know," Cristal said, leaning against the counter and closing her eyes for a brief moment. "Maybe I should just try to get more sleep."

"It couldn't hurt," Ozpin said gently as he came into the room from downstairs. "Sorry I'm late, my meeting with James and Qrow went a bit long."

"It's fine," Cristal said, her exhaustion clear in her voice no matter her efforts to hide it. "I can't imagine anything getting done if James and Qrow are in the same room together."

"You have no idea…" Emmeline muttered. "No godly idea."

"It's going to be fine, I promise, Chrissy," Ozpin said as he took her hand in his and squeezed it. "It will be."

She nodded as she wrapped her arms tightly around him. "I sure as hell hope so…"

* * *

"I'm going to be honest," Allison said as she sipped her champagne. "I'm not sure how any of this works out, but it's damn horrifying to know what really happened to Nicole Ciel."

"I agree," Elizabeth said, then sighing. "But, however horrifying it is to us, I have a feeling that it's worse for them."

"No kidding," Blake said. "You and I both know the state Ronnie Ciel's been in. Emmeline's more numb to all this, although considering everything she's gone through in the last year I'm not surprised, but he's been a raving mess. He won't let it show, but there's a lot that's bothering him about this."

"At the end of the day, she's still his sister," Allison reminded him, and he nodded. "Although…"

"She'll never be the same," Elizabeth finished. "The way I heard it, President Ciel actually spoke to her and got her to speak."

"He is her father," Allison said, then shivering slightly against her will. "Believe me, family brings out quite a bit in everyone whether it's good or bad."

Blake wrapped his right arm around her and gave her a squeeze. "Allie…"

"I don't want to have this discussion again," She said shortly, setting down her glass. "At least, not right now."

"Well, all I can say is that I can't imagine the Ciel's having things lighten up any time soon," Elizabeth shook her head. "It's horrible, it really is, with everything that's happened to them."

"And with Spencer and Edward not getting along very well, this is probably worse," Blake noted. "Emmeline said that the two of them got in a rather unfortunate spat the other day."

"I'm not surprised," Elizabeth said, a bit too pointedly. "It's not as if the two of them have gotten along very well throughout recent years."

"To be honest, I partially blame Spencer's sink into addiction on his father who pushed him too hard after he quit his job working as an investigator for the Council," Allison narrowed her eyes at her champagne for a brief moment. "I understand Edward's concern, but he's never paid much attention to Spencer, and he's never trusted him, and he's always held his other children's accomplishments over his head."

"That's one of Ciel's greatest flaws, I agree," Elizabeth said, crossing her arms. "He's not an easy man to please, and, unfortunately, his children have to deal with that just as much as anybody else."

Blake hesitated for a moment but then sighed. "And he's keeping secrets from them for no reason, and they have nothing to do with anything of importance. Not of the government, not of Salem…I just don't understand."

"Do you really think any of us are ever going to understand Ciel?" Allison questioned in slight amusement as she kissed her husband's cheek. "He's a more complicated man than most."

"That's become remarkably clear over the years," Blake agreed, giving Allison a gentle squeeze although he flinched when he tried to move his left arm to reach her champagne. "And especially recently. He's being both transparent and not. It leaves you left to wonder quite a bit."

"I've always been curious about him, even when I was still a journalist," Elizabeth admitted, rubbing her neck. "I had several interviews with him, and he had a strange way of being both detached and completely invested at the same time."

"And he never goes anywhere without wearing that bowler hat of his," Allison remarked, attempting to lighten the tension. "I've never seen him without it in his hands or on his head."

Blake rolled his eyes. "See, this is one of the reasons why I love you."

Allison smiled. "Aww…"

"I wonder if…" Elizabeth trailed off for a moment, but then shook her head. "I wonder if he's even more afraid of this war with Salem than we are."

"Knowing Ciel," Blake said slowly. "He probably is."

Elizabeth sighed. "I just hope that more shit doesn't come down for him. This kingdom needs a strong leader right now, and if the family keeps falling apart who knows if he will or not?"

"Either way, I think he's scared more than anything else," Allison said, and she nodded. "Although, I think we all are."

"That's what happens when you finally choose a side, like we have," She said, sipping her wine once more. "Not that that's to say your side wouldn't be chosen for you if you tired to avoid taking one in the first place. That's the funny thing about this world, and it's that it could not care less about any of us or what we want. More often than not, like Salem, it seeks to destroy it. No wonder she and the darkness work so well together, no wonder they're such formidable enemies."


	56. Chapter 56

_**January 23rd  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
3:14 PM**_

Cas smirked to herself as she flicked a folded up note across the table to Caitlin who was glancing through work on her computer during their study hall. The girl looked up in surprise, her green eyes widening for a moment but then shaking her head. Pushing her computer to the side a bit, Caitlin looked around but then tentatively took the paper into her hands. As Cas sent her a pointed look, she looked down and unfolded the note in her hands. Biting her lip as she read the note, she sent a cursory glance towards her computer, tapped the touchpad to keep the device awake, and then pulled her purple pen from her songwriting book and scribbled out a reply. Folding it back up once she was done, she flicked it back to Cas who read it quickly and then, having been given the okay to do so, dragged her backpack, computer, scroll, and purse over to the open spot next to Caitlin. Smirking as she punched her shoulder, Cas then adjusted her glasses before speaking in a quiet tone.

"You doing okay?" She asked, and Caitlin nodded. "Alright."

"I'm just tired," She told her, and Cas sighed. "You know, because of the amount of work we've been doing the last few days."

"Fair enough," Cas said, looking up nervously as their study hall advisor sent a sweeping glance around the room. "I get it, and my parents have been…well…"

"I can imagine that," Caitlin said with a faint smirk. "Since I'm sure your dad's concerned particularly heavily for your mother."

"Well, her, me, the baby…" Cas counted off. "Although that's not entirely covering it."

"Since Cristal and Ozpin also live with you guys, I can imagine he's worried about his sister too," Caitlin said, looking down at her notebook towards her lyrics. "And isn't your mom dealing with a lot of family drama right now?"

Cas groaned as quietly as she could. "Ugh, yes. Ronnie's an ass like always except…he's more of an ass than usual. Mommy didn't like his speech much either when she read it over. Apparently, there was a whole line in there about 'closure for the kids that died' and appeals to unity and that we must 'press on."

"That makes sense, from a political standpoint," Caitlin remarked, closing her tab of online pool on her computer. "Although Ronnie Ciel is a bit known for his…"

"Yeah, I know," Cas said, crossing her arms tightly across her chest as she wrestled with her complicated feelings towards her uncle. "I've never really liked how arrogant he is because of his power, and I've always hated how he treats Spencer. You know he told my mom that he thinks their brother is just a 'broken toy'?"

Caitlin rolled her eyes. "What a dick."

"Language, Miss Morell," Their advisor said, looking up to send her a sharp look upon hearing the young woman's high yet powerful voice even at a quieter volume. "If you keep going like that, you'll end up with detention and I'm sure that your mother would be unhappy about that."

Caitlin sighed heavily. "Pardon my…slip up, Madame Cordovan."

The older woman raised an eyebrow. "Speaking of your mother, my sister, Commanding Specialist Caroline Cordovan still has a bone to pick with her."

Caitlin stifled back a giggle. "I imagine that's true."

The woman stared at her for a moment but then shook her head. "Back to work with Miss Ciel, Miss Morell."

Caitlin couldn't resist smirking, her bright green eyes twinkling mischievously. "Of course, Madame Cordovan," She said, fluffing her long, bronze waves and then straightening her blunt bangs. "Casseia and I have quite a bit to discuss and work on."

Cas giggled behind her hand as Cordovan looked back at her papers and Caitlin winked.

"God, I love you," Cas whispered, punching her shoulder. "You always know what to say, don't you?"

"I certainly try," Caitlin replied, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "You know how I am."

Cas nodded, looking to her scroll as it lit up with a message from her mother.

"You okay?" Caitlin asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Cas?"

She smiled as she read her mother's message. "Yeah, although I think daddy's going to be ecstatic when she gets home."

"Why?" Caitlin stared at her in confusion. "What happened?"

"He and I were right," Cas said with a grin. "I'm going to have a little sister. Two of them, actually, according to mommy."

Caitlin nodded absentmindedly, her thoughts somewhere else. Tapping her short, bitten down nails against the table, she found herself back around to questions that had started to arise months before, shortly after she'd found herself wrapped into the same fold as her family.

"Alright," Cas said, sending her a pointed look. "What is it?"

Caitlin hesitated but then shook her head. "The Relic Of Knowledge," She said quietly. "There's something about what Ozpin's told everyone about it that feels…odd. If the last questions were answered before the Great War and all the hell and strife that caused, being especially that it was shortly after our kingdom's civil war…then that sets it as being exactly or shortly over a hundred years ago. Ruby said that only three questions can be asked per era…per each hundred years…per every five scores…so we should be able to ask three questions. Why would he lie to us, and why doesn't he want us to pose questions to the Relic? Is he trying to…is he trying to hide something?"

Cas bit her lip as she thought about that. "Maybe." She admitted. "But what's so horrible that we can't know about it? What's so horrible that he can't breathe a damn word?"

Caitlin swallowed hard as she closed her computer. "I…I don't know. I just don't, but I think you and I know what we have to do."

Cas nodded hesitantly. "You and I are going to the Atlas Academy vault, and we're asking that Relic a question."

"Assuming we figure out how," Caitlin said. "After all, who knows what it might take?"

* * *

"Ozpin, we need to -" Spencer Ciel paused awkwardly as he all but tore open the door to Ozpin and Cristal's room where she was reading and he was pacing. "Oh."

"Emmett's a damn idiot sometimes, isn't he?" Cristal glanced up from her novel as she adjusted her glasses. "And what do you want? You look awful, Spencer, and I think you should be able to tell."

He sighed. "To be honest, your bluntness actually helps."

"Well," She said as she pushed herself up. "I've already started working primarily from home for the time being, so you'll be getting a lot more of that if you decide to frequent this place more."

He laughed. "Funny, Cristal."

She smiled. "What's going on, Spencer?"

He hesitated, looking nervously to Ozpin. "Nikki said that if I 'had any questions' that you're who I should ask. She was talking about the fate of the world, I don't know why."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "She knows about that?"

Cristal scoffed. "Of course she does, she's a close ally of Ashlynn, after all."

"Your sister?" Spencer looked at her in confusion. "I know that she…that she changed and that my dad says that she and Nikki were working together but…"

"She is," Cristal said, folding her arms across her chest. "Ciel wasn't lying about that. Actually, he wasn't lying about anything that he said, at least from his perspective."

Spencer nodded, glancing away sadly for a moment. "Oh."

"Spencer, are you sure that you want to know what she was talking about?" Ozpin asked him, sharing a brief glance with his wife. "It's not particularly easy to hear."

Spencer swallowed hard, but then nodded. "Yes, I want to know. What the hell's really going on?"

"First off," Ozpin said, sitting down next to his wife and taking her hand. "What's your favourite fairy tale?"

Spencer blinked, surprised by the question. "Well…I suppose the _Story Of The Seasons._ My kids love the story, so I've read it quite a bit."

"And if it were real?" Ozpin questioned. "What would you say to that?"

"I'd say what the hell," Spencer admitted, still confused. "I'm sure a damn lot exists in this world that not everyone's aware of."

Cristal rolled her eyes. "That's an understatement."

"What?" Spencer's brow furrowed in his confusion. "Cristal, what is that supposed to mean?"

Ozpin sighed. "Spencer, the _Story Of The Seasons_ is real, as are many others including the _Girl In The Tower_ , and the _Man With Two Souls_."

"You're serious?" Spencer's eyes went wide when he nodded. "Oh god."

"The four maidens have existed for thousands of years," Ozpin informed him, and Spencer slowly sat down on the small settee in the room in shock. "And I can confirm that because I was the one that created them."

"You?" Spencer asked, his voice a bit higher than usual. "You created the maidens."

"To be more accurate, I gave them their powers," He said, and Spencer sighed. "Which I was able to do because I had – have – magic that I was able to grant to them."

Spencer was silent for a moment, struggling to process, but then shook his head. "How exactly, then, are the _Girl In The Tower_ and the _Man With Two Souls_ real?"

Cristal glanced nervously at Ozpin. "Oz?"

He turned to her and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "For starters," He said as he looked back to Spencer. "I am the man with two souls, and I was cursed by the gods to reincarnate until the time at which I defeat Salem."

"Salem?" Spencer raised an eyebrow. "The hell is that?"

"Salem is the master and…creator of grimm," Ozpin said carefully. "And she is seeking out the four relics, two of which are in Atlas at the moment, in order to bring about the end of humanity."

Spencer looked vaguely sick. "Why would anyone want to do that?"

Ozpin hesitated. "Power." He eventually said. "She's also immortal, at the present moment, and has made it her goal for the last few millennia to destroy everything that humanity has built."

"That's…is that…" Spencer bit his lip and forced himself to stand up. "That's horrible."

"And it's the world we live in," Cristal said with a heavy sigh. "There's not really much in this world that can be protected, not anymore."

"I'll find a way to stop her," Spencer said, clenching his fists as he began to head out of the room. "Or we will. There's just too much at stake."

Cristal shook her head as she leaned back a little on the bed. "Maybe that wasn't such a good idea."

"Spencer Ciel's a good person," Ozpin said, going silent for a long moment after. "Chrissy, she's not going to corrupt him into thinking she's the only way his family can be protected."

"Maybe she won't do it herself," Cristal replied. "She could always let the Ciels tear themselves apart. Ronnie and Spencer already resent each other, Edward barely pays any mind to Spencer, Nicole is one of Ashlynn's allies, and Emmeline's support of him is only going to do so much for him. She could get her way with him, and none of us particularly want to see what it would be like if that happened. He's been through enough already, he doesn't need to go through more."

"She's not going to know," Ozpin said although he himself was not confident in the matter. "Of all the Ciels she could keep tabs on, he'd be the least useful to her. Spencer doesn't have any access to classified information anymore, he's got no direct ties to anything of interest to her –"

"Except for his siblings," Cristal said, a bit of cynicism entering her voice. "If Ronnie crosses a line, ethically, politically, or otherwise, then who's to say that she couldn't have one of her pawns make a move with Spencer as an unwitting accomplice?"

"Chrissy?" Emmett poked his head into the room and then sighed. "Oh great, you're probably pissed at me."

"That was stupid," She informed him. "Did your head leave you for a moment?"

"You really think he wouldn't have sought out answers from _anyone_ after what his sister said?" Emmett countered evenly. "Better we tell him that Salem who'd probably suggest that she's the only person that can get him what he truly wants."

"I suppose," Cristal said slowly. "But he's still being put in danger he shouldn't have been put in."

" _We_ didn't do that," Emmett reminded her. "Neo did. We only gave him the factual answers."

"I just hope nothing happens," Cristal said. "It's not like we haven't lost enough people to this already."

"Emmy's probably going to be pissed when she finds out," Emmett added. "So I can imagine that –"

"What am I going to be pissed about?" Emmeline raised an eyebrow as she stepped into the room with her arms crossed. "Emmett…"

"I thought you had meetings with the Council," He said, and she rolled her eyes. "Oh."

"Emmett, I took today off because I had a check in, and, before you ask, yes, the babies are perfectly fine," She sent him a pointed look. "So I'll ask again: what am I going to be pissed about?"

Emmett paused for a moment, staring at her in surprise. "Babies?" He repeated, his voice a bit higher than usual. "As in, more than one?"

Emmeline nodded, her deep brown eyes laced with the tiniest bit of concern. "Two girls, Emmett."

Emmett all but ran over to her and embraced her tightly. "I didn't see that coming."

"I didn't either," She replied with faint amusement. "But –"

Emmett pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "I love you so damn much, Emmy, I really do."

She smiled. "I love you too."

"Well, then," Cristal said with a smirk. "You both get your way in what to name your daughters."

"Ariel Erika," Emmeline said quickly.

"And," Emmett added as he gave her an affectionate squeeze. "Briella Anneliese."

Cristal rolled her eyes. "You two are too much, sometimes, although I think Emmeline's family crosses too much six times over."

Emmeline sighed, looking to Emmett. "Is this what I'm going to be pissed about?"

"Spencer knows about the war with Salem," Emmett said quickly, and her eyes quickly narrowed. "I swear I didn't –"

"I know that you wouldn't," Emmeline said gently. "But when exactly did he find out?"

Emmett sighed. "Apparently Oz and Chrissy told him today."

Cristal stared at him in irritation. "Yeah, thanks, Emmett, throw your own sister under the bus –"

"Oz, why in god's name would you –" Emmeline started, turning to the man and sounding vaguely exasperated.

"Because _your_ sister already told him the basics," Ozpin told her, and Emmeline sighed. "I imagine he went to talk to her and she got him involved in this."

Emmeline considered that and then shook her head. "What the hell did they do to her?"

"I don't think any of us want to know," Cristal said with a bit of anxiety in her voice. " _I_ really don't, because, whatever it was, it was probably gruesome to say the very least."

* * *

"Yang, what are you listening to?" Ruby sent her cousin a funny look as she stepped into the main room with her short hair still wet from her shower. "Yang?"

"Escape The Fate," Yang replied, turning up the volume a bit. "See?"

 _We see the stones falling from the sky - on fire. The blinding light beaming from your eyes - our desire. Life has died, yet we're still alive, and down below, a sea of damned crashing like a tidal wave..._

Ruby grimaced slightly. "The blinding light beaming from your eyes?"

Yang paused, and then turned the music down to barely a whisper. "Sorry, that didn't occur to me. That's a bit on the nose…"

"Yeah, a bit," Ruby said, rubbing her neck. "Right."

"What are you two talking about?" Weiss raised an eyebrow as she sauntered into the room with one hand on her hip and Myrtenaster on the other. "Ruby?"

"Probably nothing," Blake said, sighing as she set her book aside. "Or nothing normal."

"Fair enough," Weiss said with a faint smirk. "So, what do you guys want to talk about?"

Yang smirked. "Anything for you, Ice Princess."

Weiss scowled. "Funny, Yang."

Ruby giggled. "Enough sarcasm, that was perfect! Perfect!"

As the four young women continued to enjoy a day more relaxed, more calm than many before, another white haired woman several blocks down found her temporary break from military work being extended by circumstance. She stared at the stick of plastic in her hands and, in spite of her nerves, smiled faintly. Setting it down on the counter, she stood up from where she had been sitting on the edge of the bathtub. Adjusting her silk robe and her relatively messy bun, she stepped over to the medicine cabinet and fixed up her appearance the bit she needed to before slipping the stick into one of the pockets of her robe. She flipped off the lights to the room as she left and stepped through the bedroom to the kitchen in which she found her husband sipping from his flask although he set it down quickly upon seeing her. He embraced her and kissed her cheek, then held her loosely in his arms.

"You just getting up?" He teased, his red eyes glinting with a bit of mischief. "Because if you are, you've shocked me."

Winter rolled her eyes. "Oh god, Qrow, it'd be a crime if I got up at this time."

He laughed. "Never heard you joke about something being a crime before."

"And you don't like it when I joke?" She countered with a smirk. "You tease me all the time."

"You know I love you," He said, squeezing her as he went on. "You know that, don't you Ice Queen?"

She rolled her eyes at the nickname. "Amusing, Qrow."

"Hey," He said, chuckling. "I never said my old habits were going to go away because I fell in love with you. In many ways, falling for you has made them stronger."

"Fighting in courtyards better not be one of them," She said, a feigned sharpness in her voice mixed with genuine concern. "What would our child think?"

Qrow smiled. "I'm sure they'd be proud of how strong their parents are."

"I hope they won't have to find out that way," She said, and he shrugged. "Qrow!"

"I know, I know," He said. "You and I need to actually try to be responsible parents –"

"You mean –" Winter started.

"No, I mean both of us," Qrow said, looking at her seriously. "I won't tell our kid stories like that, and you won't bury yourself in work."

She sighed. "I do that, don't I?"

"More often than not," He admitted. "But you've gotten better about it, and I'd love you either way. Out of curiosity, though, why'd you bring that up? It's not like we have a kid yet."

Winter bit her lip. "Well, we will soon enough."

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "I know we've been trying –"

"And it's worked," She said, pulling out the positive pregnancy test from within a pocket of her tight silk robe and setting it on the counter. "Qrow, I'm –"

Qrow pulled her into him tightly and kissed her fervently. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am!" She exclaimed, staring at him in surprise. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know," He said, tucking a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. "We're really going to have a baby…that's…damn, that's crazy. What's crazier is going to be the look on Schnee's face when I tell him. Adel too. And, god, Tai's going to lose his shit."

Winter rolled her eyes. "Since when do you and my uncle get along at all?"

"I don't have a bad relationship with Emmett," Qrow said, then sighing off her look. "Emmett and I don't always see eye to eye, but we get along fine. Adel thinks I'm funny –"

"Probably because he –" Winter started.

"I know, because he and Allison probably have all sorts of fun joking about what I keep in my flask or something like that," Qrow shrugged. "He and Allison, I think, are the most outright affectionate if slightly crazy couple in the group. Michael and Elizabeth Morell don't see each other all that much…usually once or twice a week which is probably why their marriage works out –"

"Qrow, can we not talk about why Madame and Commander Morell's marriage works?" She stared at him in slight exasperation. "Since we have more important things to think about?"

He nodded. "Sorry, it's just a lot to process and…well, you know better than anyone that distracting myself is the easiest way for me to handle stress."

"It's going to be fine," She told him in spite of her own fears. "We can worry later, but, for now, why not be happy that we're having a child? Or, for you in particular, be happy that I'm not going to be able to go on any active missions – I'll only be able to do work within the DFAMA?"

Qrow grinned. "I like the sound of you being around more."

"I do too," She admitted in slight resignation. "But, please, don't freak out on General Ironwood after I file my leave of absence from combat tomorrow."

Qrow hesitated. "Well, that depends…"

"Qrow," Winter groaned. "Please don't do anything crazy…"

"I won't," He swore, holding her close and kissing her cheek again. "I just want you and our baby to be safe, and if James could compromise that in any way because he gives into your workaholic nature…"

"Your concern is sweet," She said, resting her head on his shoulder. "Really, it is."

He smiled. "I'm glad."


	57. Chapter 57

_**January 24th  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
8:34 AM**_

"Qrow?" Glynda rubbed her eyes tiredly as she opened the door to her and James' rowhouse to find the red eyed man standing there. Adjusting her glasses, she sighed. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

He glanced at his scroll. "Just past eight thirty. In the morning."

She sighed. "God, what happened?"

"I just need to talk to James about something," He said, and she groaned. "I'm not going to antagonise him or anything, geez."

"...Who is it?" James called from the other room where their son and daughter were staring at the ceiling happily, surrounded by pillows. "...Glyns, it can't be the mail today's a national -"

"I know," She called back. "It's just Qrow."

"...Qrow?" James sounded rather surprised. "...Seriously?"

She motioned Qrow to follow her inside, quickly closing the door behind him with her heel. "Yes, says he needs to talk to you about something."

James all but ran into the room and stared at Qrow in surprise. "I never thought you could wake up early to talk about anything."

Qrow shrugged. "Well, turns out I can."

Glynda sighed. "I never thought I'd see the day."

James pressed a soft kiss to her cheek as she stepped back into their living room. "You, me, and the kids can have some time together later, okay?"

She nodded tiredly as she left the two of them in the foyer. "Alright."

James motioned for Qrow to sit down on a small settee near the window, then sitting across from him.

"Something's going on with you," He finally said. "Going out of your way to talk to me in the morning? Qrow, what's happened?"

"Nothing bad," He replied, resisting the temptation to pull out his flask and have a drink. "I just wanted to inform you of something before Win does herself."

James raised an eyebrow. "You didn't convince her to resign her position –"

"God, I'm not an idiot," Qrow rolled his eyes. "James, you're hard to get through to sometimes, you know that?"

James struggled to hide his annoyance and instead crossed his arms. "Alright, then, Qrow, what's happened?"

"Obviously, she's going to file this in an extended leave of absence from combat soon," Qrow said, sending the other man a sharp look. "But you should know that Winter is pregnant."

James stared at him for a moment in surprise. "Alright," He finally said. "Why did you feel the need to tell me yourself?"

"Because I know you well, James," Qrow replied. "And if she wanted to work herself too hard –"

"I wouldn't let her –" James started.

"No, I doubt that," Qrow said, then shaking his head. "James, you and Winter are similar enough, and you both wouldn't take much time to yourselves if given that option. Don't you dare give into her workaholic nature, and, please, for god's sake, make sure she doesn't get hurt."

"She won't be going on combat missions," He reminded him. "As you yourself so purposefully pointed out."

"I just…" Qrow buried his face in his hands. "James, don't breathe a word of this to Winter but, as happy as I am, I'm downright terrified that I'm going to hurt her or our baby. You need to understand that I care about both of them and I need your word that she'll be safe both throughout and after her pregnancy."

James sent him a sympathetic look. "I know how that feels."

Qrow's red eyes widened temporarily for a moment, but then he smiled. "I forget sometimes that you're a father now."

"It's nerve wracking, I'll admit," James said, glancing towards the room where his wife and children were. "But I'd never let go of my children of my wife. I understand what you're feeling, Qrow."

"Yeah, sure," Qrow sighed heavily. "But you're not bad luck, James."

"Oh, for god's sake," Glynda said, stepping into the room with both twins on her hips. "Are you going off about your semblance again? Jesus, no wonder you're always drunk."

Qrow scowled. "Thanks, Glynda, that's so helpful."

"I can take Alyssa and Edward," James said, and Glynda smiled as she handed him their twins who were giggling. "And, as for Qrow…"

"Look, Qrow," Glynda said, sending him a pointed look as she adjusted her glasses. "You have no damn reason to be worried about your semblance because, honestly, it –"

"Is always active, is always making me a risk," Qrow counted off, finally giving in and pulling out his flask to take a swig. "And with Winter being pregnant, I'm especially worried."

Glynda blinked, surprised by his words. "Winter's pregnant?"

"Yeah," Qrow said, setting down his flask a bit roughly. "I'm happy about it, don't doubt that, but you know just as well as I do that I could hurt her and our child by accident."

"You're not going to," Glynda said, crossing her arms. "You've let your semblance get to far deep into your head over the years, honestly. Why?"

Qrow sighed. "Glynda, I'd rather not get into that."

"Too damn bad," She replied. "You're never going to be able to move on if you don't admit what's been bothering you all these years."

He glared at her but then shook his head. "What the hell. At this point, what do I have to lose?"

"By the sound of it, quite a bit," She bit off, and he sighed. "Qrow, I'm not trying to pick at you, but –"

"Do you and James even know the real reason why Raven and I went to Beacon?" He cut her off with the question that shocked both of them. "Because I'm not even quite sure Oz does and, to be honest, I don't want him to know. It's not good, at any rate."

Glynda and James shared a long glance.

"Well," James said slowly as he gently bounced his daughter on his knee, causing her to giggle more. "I'm sure it can't be worse than anything we've dealt with in the field."

"You ever killed for your tribe because your mother forced you to?" Qrow questioned. "You ever done horrible things up to abandoning your own child and relinquishing parental responsibility because her mother died?"

"You didn't abandon Ruby per se –" Glynda countered.

"I might as well have," Qrow said, looking down at his hands in shame. "She's only known for a few months, and it's all because I selfishly abandoned her because I was upset about her mother dying. Glynda, you and James are much better people than I am. I'm on the same level as people like Ronnie Ciel – I'm a straight up asshole who most people would forcibly remove their children from my presence because of my alcoholism, because of my crassness, because of what I've done even though I've done everything in my power to not let my past define me."

"Yet you still are," Glynda noted, placing a hand on James' shoulder as they shared another look. "I'm sure Winter's told you to piss off about it."

Qrow sighed heavily once more. "Honestly, Glynda, I just don't want this to go to hell. I love her, and I already love our child. I want to be a good father…I'm just not sure I know how."

* * *

Ronnie Ciel shook his head as he set down his tea. "Dad, I'm genuinely concerned about Spencer."

"As am I," Ciel replied, not looking back from where he stood, staring out the window. "I heard that he spoke with Nicole the other day."

"About a week or so ago, and I think it's made him more...well…" Ronnie sighed. "I don't want to lock him up in rehab again, but I don't want him to hurt himself over things like this."

Ciel was silent for a long moment, considering that rather heavily.

"Dad, really, Spencer is hurting himself with all of this and the doesn't seem to realise that this is bigger than him," Ronnie crossed his arms as he leaned back slightly into the chaise lounge in his rowhouse. "I mean, his sons are eight and six respectively while his daughter is nine. You cannot tell me that Brie and I wouldn't be better parents to them, can you?"

"Of course not," Ciel agreed, although he was not thrilled about viewing his youngest son as unfit to care for his own children. "But he hasn't done anything that a court of law would consider making him unfit, at least to his children. His drug use would be concerning to the court, yes, but that does not mean they would act. You should know that they would view you as trying to cause him trouble because you disagree with him on multiple counts."

"That's an understatement," Brie said as she stepped into the room, her long, tight evening gown brushing against the floor. "Ronnie, are what do you think of this one for the gala tonight?"

Ronnie smiled as he turned around and saw her. "You look beautiful, Brie."

She blushed slightly in spite of herself. "Ronnie…"

"I mean it," He said, sending her a pointed look. "You really do look beautiful, as always. And that dress really does fit you like a glove."

She couldn't help but smile as she twisted her pale blonde locks in her hands. "Ronnie, really, saying that in front of your father?"

"If you think that Emmett, even in the few months since he and his sister were found, hasn't said far worse things about Emmeline in front of me, then you're mistaken," Ciel interjected, though he still was primarily preoccupied by watching the city lights as a form of distraction from his concerns. "Vastly mistaken, at that."

Brie laughed. "Emmett's never been one to hold back, has he?"

"And now you're making understatements," Ronnie teased affectionately, adjusting his glasses as he spoke. "You and I both know what –"

"Yeah, yeah," Brie said dismissively, waving her hand. "I get the point, Ronnie. Now, why are you talking about your brother if it only infuriates you and will, as you and I both know, get to the point where the person talking with you about him might as well be talking to a brick wall?"

Ronnie sighed. "Brie…"

"Well?" She set a hand to her hip. "Ronnie, I'll find a way to force it out of you later if you don't tell me right now."

"Fine," Ronnie said, standing up as irritation rose in his voice. "I was saying that I'm particularly concerned about what will happen to Spencer's kids because of his addiction. Especially that is true now, considering what has happened with Nicole. You and I –"

"Yes, we would be better parents and I would love to raise them, they're sweet kids, after all," Brie said, fluffing out her hair. "At the same time, you and I don't have a proper case to take custody, and it would make you look bad, at the very least, to the other department heads who are sympathetic of Spencer. Not to mention the fact that us taking custody of Spencer's kids would divide the family further."

Ronnie groaned. "Damn you being right…"

"I think it's sweet that you're damning me for being right about something," She replied with a smirk. "At the same time, I think you should give up on the whole thing with trying to take Spencer's kids because of his problems."

Ronnie bit his lip. "Again, you're right."

"Ronnie, sweetheart," Brie said gently as she all but floated over to where he was sitting. "How badly do you want kids?"

He swallowed hard. "Brie…"

"I'll let the two of you sort this out, whatever this is," Edward Ciel picked up his bowler hat from the table and set it back on his head as he started towards the door. "But, Ronnie, you and I can discuss more how to handle Spencer's…issues later."

Ronnie nodded. "Of course."

Brie waited for a long moment, until she heard and saw the door click behind her father in law, before turning back to her husband and gently placing a hand over his.

"I know I've been resistant to the idea of us having a family in the last three years since we got married," Brie said, her grey eyes looking at him lovingly. "But I am in a better place in my job as a scientific researcher for the Council, and I'm making good money, never mind the fact that the PENNY Project didn't quite go in the way we'd intended…"

"I don't blame you for what happened to her," Ronnie said, gently brushing his thumb under her eyes to catch her tears. "Honey, what happened with her was a complete accident, and it was attached to the horror of what happened to Beacon. But the Academy is almost done being repaired and will reopen next year, Atlas is no longer at risk for war with any the other kingdoms like it was at the end of last year, and everyone who was involved with the project, except for a few, have had their names cleared by the DOJ after investigation. Nothing you did was wrong, you were only trying to –"

"I don't want to think about this too much," She said abruptly. "Ronnie, please don't –"

"I'm sorry," He said, embracing her tightly and then releasing her gently. "It's barely past nine in the morning anyways, and we have the day off. We shouldn't be focusing on things like that."

She nodded. "I agree."

"So," He said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "What were you saying?"

"If you really want us to have a child, then I…I'm ready to," She said, smiling. "Really. I know that you've –"

"I don't know if now is a great time…" Ronnie said, glancing at his hands. "With everything going on, and with Emmeline and Emmett…let alone all the shit going on in my family in general right now."

"Oh," Brie said, then sighing. "Ronnie, I thought you'd be happy, not annoyed."

He looked at her in shock. "I'm not annoyed, Brie."

"Yes, you are," She said, and he groaned. "That's proving my point."

"I said I'm not sure," Ronnie said, standing up suddenly and crossing his arms. "Don't assume what I'm thinking."

"Oh, I'm sorry _Mister Ciel_ ," Brie retorted in irritation. "Have I crossed a line with the head of the –"

"Brie –" Ronnie started in exasperation.

"Don't even go there," She snapped. "Why is it that whenever you and I need to talk about something serious in our lives that you do the same thing you do with the rest of your family and become impossible to have a reasonable conversation with?"

"I don't –" He protested.

"I imagine that you'd be pissed if I told you I'm pregnant right now," Brie scowled at him. "And, before you ask, I'm not. I'm –"

"I get your point," Ronnie snapped back. "You don't have to go out of your way to upset me."

"Ugh, get over yourself," She kicked off her heels and began to storm off to their room. "You always get like this, and I hate it! Why can't you be the open, happy man that I married rather than the stone cold bastard you're like most of the time now?"

Ronnie stared at her as she left him standing alone in their living room. Swallowing hard as he brushed away tears from the corners of his eyes, he turned to the wall and punched it – bruising his knuckles as he didn't have access to his aura like his sisters. "What's happened to everything…" He whispered. "What the hell is happening…"

But he got no response.

* * *

"Ugh, fuck him," Allison said, and Emmeline couldn't help but laugh a small bit in amusement. "He's all talk sometimes, and has a serious stick up his ass."

"Since when has Ronnie not had a stick up his ass?" Cristal questioned with a smirk. "After all, he is known for being more concerned with _having_ his job than actually doing it."

"Only by people like us," Blake said, wrapping an arm around his wife affectionately. "Considering that we all work with him. The public thinks he's great."

"It's not as if he does nothing, it's that when he does things that are harder, he always does something…" Emmett trailed off, and then sighed. "Well, I think you all know what I mean."

"If anything, I'm not sure my brother's been coping very well with everything," Emmeline said, twisting her long, dark locks in her hands. "He'll deny it, but do you really think he would have put a line in a speech that he's going to give in Vale about 'closure for the kids that died' if he wasn't thinking the slightest bit about Nicole?"

"That was a bit weird," Ozpin noted, sharing a look with his wife. "Although not entirely unexpected, considering that the few times he's been required to give speeches they've had to be provocative."

"No kidding," Emmett said, a bit of judgement lacing his voice. "Ronnie's kind of a dick, and I don't think he always realises it."

Emmeline sighed. "He's been that way for years, believe me. He and my father are rather similar, but the primary difference is their tempers. Ronnie's nowhere near as calm as my father, and he's much less restrained from an emotional standpoint regardless of how he tries to repress it."

"That can't be healthy," Cristal remarked as she adjusted her glasses. "Although I suppose it does explain most of his issues."

"He's a complicated person, always has been," Emmeline told her. "Even when we were kids, he flirted with similar lines. I was honestly shocked when he met Brie four years ago, and even more shocked when they got married after only dating for a year."

"To be fair –" Emmett started.

"You and I were under different circumstances," She replied, and he smiled as he kissed her cheek. "Completely different circumstances, actually."

"Hey, we didn't know you were pregnant with Cas until a few weeks after we got married," Emmett protested, teasingly ruffling her hair. "Of course, now we're going to have two other little girls to keep track of."

Blake rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because having two babies to take care of and a seventeen year old daughter is hard compared to me and Allie having to have once dealt with a thirteen year old Coco, an eleven year old Heather, and –"

"You two can bitch all you want, it's not going to get you anywhere," Emmeline informed them with a smirk. "Allison works from home most of the time, and Blake's rarely kept at work after six."

Allison smiled. "Touché, Emmeline."

"Al," Cristal said, glancing nervously at a small note on the counter. "What's this?"

Allison's eyes went wide as she quickly ripped it off the counter and shoved it in her back pocket. "Oh, nothing, just something I found in the mailbox this morning."

"Allie," Blake said in concern. "It's a national holiday, there's no mail today."

She bit her lip. "Sorry, I meant yesterday morning."

"Liar," Cristal said, crossing her arms. "That's not true, and you know it."

She hesitated. "Chrissy…"

"Does this have anything to do with your father?" She asked her gently, sending her a sympathetic look. "Oh, Al…"

"I thought we agreed that we weren't going to keep anymore secrets from each other," Blake said as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "Can I talk to you in the hall for just a minute?"

Allison nodded once as they left the room, his arm still around her waist. "Fine." She said shortly.

As soon as they were out of earshot of the others and could her them talking once more, Blake sighed heavily and took her hands in his.

"Allison," He said, giving her a pointed look. "What's going on?"

"Why do you care so much, it's always the same damn cycle," She snapped, although she regretted it when she saw the hurt look on his face and its reflection in his usually bright green eyes. "Blake, he's always going to threaten us. Why is it such a big deal to you every time he does? It scares me too, but he rarely acts, and we've been ready when he has."

"I don't know why I'm so bothered by this," He admitted. "But I'm always going to care because this isn't just about you or me. Allie, to hell with the fact that one of our kids is an adult and going to school in Vacuo, to hell with the fact that one of them is almost an adult, to hell with the fact that Lily and Emmett are only nine…it doesn't matter how old or capable they are, they're at risk because of your father and his desire to hurt you and me."

Allison's eyes started to well with tears in spite of herself. "Maybe I should leave and let him find me."

"Absolutely not," Blake said, suddenly wrapping his arms tightly around her regardless of how much doing so pained his left shoulder. "Do you have any idea what it would do to me if I lost you?"

"Blake –" She said.

"No, you're not leaving because you think that –" Blake started.

"If it weren't for me, you'd have a family that was actually functional, that wasn't in danger," She said, prying herself out of his embrace and refusing to meet his gaze. "I love you, Blake, but I didn't tell you that I would endanger you, and I should have but at the time I thought my father was going to live out the rest of his days in prison. I thought you'd never even have to know."

"Allison," Blake said gently. "You can't let fear of him live in your head and make you –"

"You could have done better than me…" She said softly. "You deserved –"

"You are not Allison Caroline Canson or Allison Caroline Watts anymore," Blake said, crossing his arms. "You're Allison Caroline _Adel_ , and I love her and everything about her more than anything. If you think you're evil incarnate because of your father, then you're wrong. It's not like we get to choose our lineage, we get to choose –"

"Blake, I –" Allison started, turning to look at him even as tears continued to fall down her face.

"No, listen to me, I…" Blake trailed off as he all but ran over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, then pressing his lips softly against hers. "I love you, and I would get completely mutilated for your sake. I've taken a bullet for you, Allie, and I'd do so again. Please don't…please don't leave me."

She swallowed hard as she rested her hands on his chest. "Blake…"

"Please," He said, starting to cry himself. "Allison, please…"

She hesitated but then nodded weakly. "I love you too, Blake, I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I don't want that either," He said quietly. "But I want you to be safe, and I want you to know how much I love you."

Allison couldn't help but giggle as she slowly felt his hands traveling lower down her back as he kissed her neck. "Blake, not right now."

"Alright," He said, taking her hand tightly in his as they headed back to where the others were. "But promise me that –"

"I love you," She swore. "I promise."

"That shouldn't even need saying," Emmett said with a smirk as soon as they saw the two of them. "You two are known for being –"

"No, no, no –" Allison started.

"It's alright," Cristal said, punching her brother's arm playfully. "We all have a good idea of what that means anyways."

Allison and Blake both turned bright pink.

"Cute," Emmeline remarked. "You've embarrassed them."

"Fuck you, Emmett," Allison said, and he started laughing.

"Feeling feisty?" He teased.

"I will be," Blake told him. "If she doesn't get feisty, I sure as hell will."

"Such a terrifying threat," Emmett said. "I'm so scared."

"Not that that's hard," Cristal said slyly as she leaned into Ozpin's embrace and he gave her a squeeze. "If I recall, you screamed the first time you saw a real grimm."

Emmett sighed. "That was –"

"Hilarious," Blake interjected.

"You really screamed?" Emmeline raised an eyebrow. "That explains a lot."

"Well, either way, I've gotten past screaming when I see grimm," Emmett said, then shaking his head. "I just wish that we could get past other things too."

"Yeah," Cristal said darkly. "Because that's likely to happen, considering our luck. More likely, things are just going to get worse and worse."


	58. Chapter 58

_**February 3rd  
Atlas Academy  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
8:34 PM**_

Caitlin shivered and pulled up her scarf from under her trench coat as the wind whipped her bronze waves around and mussed her blunt bangs. "Okay, we could get in some serious trouble for this."

Cas nodded, shivering herself as she tugged on the sleeves of her fur coat. "I know…we're probably breaking more than a few laws."

Caitlin paled as much as was possible for her, making her look almost translucent in the moonlight.

"Sorry," Cas said, taking her hand. "It's going to be alright."

Caitlin flinched slightly when Cas used her other hand to unlock the door through aid of her semblance.

"How exactly do we get down to the vault?" Caitlin asked her as soon as the door closed behind them. "Because this seems complicated."

"The security system is armed, but I…" Cas bit her lip awkwardly. "I kind of stole the code to switch it off from my mother's scroll last night when she and my dad were talking. I'm lucky I was able to guess the code…although making it my birthday did make that a lot easier."

"Figures," Caitlin said, her bright green eyes taking in as much of their surroundings as possible while Cas used her scroll to disarm the system temporarily. "It worked?"

Cas smirked to herself as she adjusted her glasses and slipped her scroll into her back pocket. "It worked."

Caitlin all but ran into the elevator with Cas behind her. "By any chance –"

"Level zero," Cas said quickly, pressing the button. "I checked my mom's information on that too, just to be safe. I thought I was going to get caught, to be honest, but I wasn't…so…"

"What if the Relic Of Knowledge isn't down here, just the Relic Of Creation?" Caitlin questioned, her normally high voice already a bit higher than average. "What are we going to do then?"

"I mean, why wouldn't they keep the Relics together?" Cas countered although she herself was unsure. "It's not like –"

"Just because they can't seal the Relic back in Haven's vault doesn't mean they'd keep two dangerous objects together," Caitlin replied, and Cas looked down at her feet nervously. "We're completely screwed if they're not together, because the longer we spend down here, then the more likely it is that we'll get caught."

Cas swallowed hard as the doors to the elevator opened to a long hall, lit by candles in sconces and one rather large diamond chandelier with something at the end emitting a pale blue glow.

"I know." She said softly.

Caitlin glanced around both in awe but with slight derision. "Well, clearly the kingdom spared no expense in making any part of the Academy after the Great War."

Cas giggled. "No kidding. I don't think I've ever seen that many diamonds before, at least on one thing."

Caitlin playfully punched her shoulder. "Ooo…Casseia, are you actually shocked by something?"

"Damn right I am," Cas said, still giggling even as they walked down the hall towards the sight of the glow which only seemed to become stronger and more vibrant the closer they got. "You see, just because I grew up the way I did doesn't mean that I can't be shocked by things."

Caitlin couldn't help but laugh. "Cas!"

"Alright," She said, pausing for a moment as soon as they could clearly see the Relics. "There they are."

"The scepter is creation," Caitlin said, and Cas looked at it a bit suspiciously but then nodded. "So that…lamp should be the Relic Of Knowledge."

Cas stepped forward slowly and picked it up. "Okay…that's a bit…no a lot heavier than I thought it would be."

"It's a metal lamp," Caitlin reminded her. "Did you expect it to be light?"

Cas rolled her eyes. "Alright, touché."

"Try opening the top of it," Caitlin told her, looking at the Relic a bit nervously. "Maybe that will activate it."

Cas twisted the top, but, seemingly, nothing happened.

"I think it's stuck or doesn't open," She groaned as she passed the lamp to Caitlin. "You have a look."

Caitlin's eyes narrowed, only highlighted by her winged eyeliner and red lipstick, as she scrutinized the lamp.

"There's an inscription around the sides," She finally said after a long moment. "It states that one must call upon the spirit of the lamp – Jinn."

Cas raised an eyebrow, but then shook her head. "What the hell. Hello? Jinn?"

Caitlin almost dropped the lamp out of shock upon it opening up and a larger than life yet still remarkably beautiful woman emerged from the lamp and floated in the middle of the room between them.

"Damn…" Caitlin said softly. "That was not what I was expecting to happen at all."

Jinn looked at both of them. "What knowledge do you seek? I can provide you the answers to three questions in this era."

Caitlin and Cas looked at each other, eyes wide.

"So, Ozpin did lie about the questions." Cas said to Caitlin, who sighed heavily.

"It would seem so." She said shortly, sounding a great deal like Elizabeth. Turning back to Jinn, she spoke a bit nervously. "What does Ozpin have to hide?"

Jinn leaned forward slightly as she spoke. "The two of you already know so much, or at least have figured it out. The simple answer is that he's hiding from a few the fact that he was once involved with Salem, romantically, and that he cannot defeat her."

Caitlin swallowed hard and nodded, a sinking feeling rising in her. "Who is truly good and who is truly evil in all of this?"

Jinn sighed. "That is a complicated question, Miss Caitlin Marianne. Nuances play a major role in that, but I can show you who at their core is good, evil, or grey."

Caitlin looked to Cas, then motioning for Jinn to speak. "Alright then."

Jinn snapped her fingers and several misty figures started to appear. "The grey are the hardest to explain, and I shall start with them. First off, Ronnie and Brianna Ciel. Brianna is second in her department, the DSAEO, to only its head, Eleanor Violetta while her husband, Ronnie, is the head of the state department. Their power, in the last five to six years, has grown because of their focuses on their work. They married, as you well know, three years ago which was around the time Brianna was placed on the PENNY Project. Neither of them are evil per se, but they have strong tempers that they struggle to control, and both of them care quite a bit about having their power and positions. They're not good, because they cling to power in the name of peace yet they do things more often than not for themselves than anyone else."

"Who else is grey?" Cas questioned, taking a small step back in shock when she saw her other uncle appear. "Spencer?"

"Spencer Ciel is grey because he will do anything to protect his family and get well or at least as well as possible, consequences or sides be damned," Jinn shook her head. "Spencer is a good man at his core, but he could be manipulated if he became desperate enough to protect his family."

Caitlin nodded. "Okay."

Jinn snapped her fingers again. "Emmett Schnee, for one, is grey because he has a mentality that is more survival of the fittest and that he will do anything to protect his family. Ozpin is also grey, but that is mostly because of his refusal to trust most people, his doubt for most of his allies, etc. Furthermore, for the same reason as Brianna and Ronnie, Edward Ciel is also grey. And, finally, like Emmett Schnee, Allison and Blake Adel are grey because of their willingness to do anything to protect their families, but also because of their fight or flight mentality. If it served their family better, for everyone who is grey, they would be willing to be complicit."

"Alright," Caitlin said, her voice shaking. "Go on."

Jinn snapped her fingers twice. "I do not feel that I need to explain what constitutes someone being good, since you two seem well aware of it, so I'll simply show you who is."

Cas sighed nervously. "Okay..."

"Emmeline Ciel, for starters, is good," Jinn said. "As are Elizabeth and Michael Morell, Cristal Schnee, Kiara Davis, Karissa Mar, Nicole Ciel, Winter Schnee, Qrow Branwen, Raven Branwen, Taiyang Xiao Long, Peter Port, Bartholomew Oobleck, Glynda Ironwood, and James Ironwood."

Caitlin and Cas shared a long look, partially in surprise because of one of the names.

"Finally," Jinn said. "The evil. The first several shouldn't surprise you."

Caitlin flinched slightly upon seeing a deathly pale woman with white hair and red eyes.

"Salem," Jinn said. "As well as Arthur Watts, Dr. Merlot, Jacques Gelè, Tyrion Callows, Hazel Rainart, Zoe Lancer, Adam Taurus, Ashlynn Schnee, and…Rosalinde Varna. Varna is not who she seems to be, and that is a dangerous thing because of her position as both the headmistress of Shade Academy as well as the prime minister of Vacuo."

"Well, she is in a high place…" Cas said under her breath.

Jinn looked sharply at both of them. "Do not underestimate Varna, and tread carefully with her. You have no idea how far deep the two of you are, how far in all of you are. I did not define you, or the young teams, or anyone within your generation because you have yet to firmly place yourselves in one section or another."

"Well, yes." Caitlin said, glancing towards Cas. "But –"

"Just keep in mind one thing: complacency is an action, even if it does not seem to be," Jinn shook her head as she went on. "Things are never what just the surface proclaims. This is a world of danger, of misplaced trusts, of wars of blame. Be careful who you side with, and be cautious of who you let yourself become."

"One last question," Cas said, and Jinn nodded. "I know this is the last one we can ask for these hundred years, but I think it's important to know. Who is going to survive this and who's not?"

Jinn hesitated. "That, Miss Casseia Emmeline, is a question I'd prefer not to answer. It could damage or change history. More to the point, no one can accurately predict the future. Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

Caitlin stepped forward, placing a hand on Cas' shoulder. "What do we, the group, Ozpin, etc, have to lose?"

Jinn looked at her sadly and then, tossing back her hair with her gold chains and jewelry clanging, she answered.

"That is not something you are going to like the answer to, that no one is going to like the answer to," Jinn ruefully said. "At the end of the day, those with the most to gain, such as yourselves and those you mentioned, have the most to lose. What I mean by that is that the people who fight against Salem, e.g. all of you, have everything to lose and, at its surface, very little to gain while those fighting with Salem have the least to lose and, on the surface, the most to gain. No one fights without reason, and everyone has a price for any side. So, I ask you both: what's your price and, as General Ciel put it ten years ago, when the first shots are fired, who will you able to trust?"

* * *

Spencer Ciel looked around nervously as he stepped into the condo in which he and his three children lived. "You three alright? Sorry I was out so long, I was –"

"Daddy!" The nine year old Natalie Ciel shrieked happily as she ran into the room and tightly embraced him even as he dropped the bags he was carrying. "You're back!"

Spencer laughed as he ruffled her hair. "Natalie, I was only gone for half an hour."

"Still," She said, giving him an almost pitiful look. "I wanted to hang out."

Spencer gently pried her off him. "I promise we'll all spend time together as a family this weekend, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

"Daddy's home?" Six year old Percival Ciel said as he stepped into the room, clutching his blanket tightly. Turning back to the room where he'd come, he yelled for his brother. "Matt! Daddy's home!"

The eight year old all but ran into the room, knocking over his little brother in the process. "Daddy! How was work? Did you get more food?"

Spencer gestured to the six bags which his daughter had caused him to drop. "Why don't you come and see for yourself?"

Matthew Ciel tore over to the bags and immediately started tearing through them. "Where are my apples?"

Spencer sighed as he pulled the particular bag onto the counter, discreetly slipping the medicine and new needles into his jacket pockets before handing his son the bag. "Check in here."

"What'd you take out?" Natalie asked him, her silver eyes wide. "Daddy?"

"Nothing," Spencer said, then sighing. "Listen, all three of you, money's going to be a bit tight this month because I'm not teaching history for the upper year students at Atlas Academy again until next month. We've got enough, and we'll be fine, but we can't be frivolous. Got it?"

Natalie hung her head sadly. "But I wanted a new dress…we have spring pictures soon…"

"And I'll get you a new dress after I get my full paycheck again at the beginning of next month," Spencer told her, swallowing the guilt he felt at having gotten more diamorphine despite his attempts to limit his usage of it. "But I don't get a full paycheck from December through February, remember?"

Natalie pouted and sat dejectedly on the ground. "We're not going to lose the home, right?"

"Of course not," Spencer said, feeling pained at his young daughter being worried at all about such things. "Natalie, we're fine."

"I miss mommy…" She said, tears starting to rise in her eyes. "Why can't she be here with us?"

"Because…" Spencer hesitated, and in that moment all three of his kids looked at him. "Because Arianna's gone, and she's not coming back. Believe me, if I could, I'd bring her back in a heartbeat. Emmeline and Ozpin are so damn lucky, with Cristal and Emmett finally being found but your mother isn't lost, she's…she's dead. And there's nothing in this world that can change that, but if I could I would."

Percival came over to him, not entirely understanding, and took his hand. "Are you going to cry, daddy?"

Spencer bit back his own pain as best he could. "No, Perce, I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine."

Matthew and Natalie looked at each other in concern as Spencer lifted up Percival and brought him over to the kitchen table.

"Now, all three of you, it's time for dinner, and then baths, and then bedtime," Spencer said, giving them all a sharp look. "Natalie, honey, can you pull three potatoes out of one of the bags, and some shredded cheese?"

She grinned and started digging through the bags for what he'd asked. "Yes! It's potato night!"

Spencer smiled. "We all agreed on the dinner schedule, didn't we? It makes my life easier, at any rate."

Natalie almost giddily brought what he'd asked her to over to the counter, shifting up to the tips of her toes to reach shove them towards him.

"Thank you, sweetums," Spencer said, looking to his sons. "So, Perce, first off, how was your day?"

Percival shrugged. "We did watercolours at kindergarten."

Spencer smiled. "Can I see them?"

Percival shrugged. "When I get to bring them home."

"Good enough," Spencer replied, opening the cupboards and reaching for the old bay spice. "What about you, Matt?"

"We worked on addition and subtraction of big numbers," The eight year old replied. "Second grade is fun, and in science we talked about birds."

"Like pigeons?" Spencer suggested, and Natalie shivered. "Yeah, I know, they're evil incarnate."

Matt shrugged. "Squirrels are worse. They steal food from people in the park."

Spencer laughed. "You three little mischievous buggers."

"Hey!" Percival protested. "I'm not mischievous!"

"You ate the cookies!" Natalie countered. "And I wanted one!"

Percival stuck out his tongue. "Na nanny boo boo!"

"Hey," Spencer said sharply, looking to both of them. "What did we say about being nice to each other?"

Natalie and Percival glanced at each other awkwardly before they both hung their heads in shame.

"Listen," Spencer said as he began to cut up the potatoes and set the greased frying pan on the stove. "I don't want us to be fighting. My brother already doesn't trust us, I don't want him to think we're dysfunctional because we're not."

Natalie nodded as she pulled herself up onto one of the chairs. "I think uncle Ronnie's a power loving ass."

Spencer looked up suddenly, nearly cutting himself in the process. "Oh, god, Natalie, don't repeat things I say, especially like that. You're going to get yourself in trouble."

Natalie sighed. "Sorry, daddy."

"It's alright," Spencer said as he dropped the chopped potatoes into the pan and stirred them around a bit. "I just don't want anything to happen, okay? Dealing with the school would be a pain, and when my family found out they'd think…"

A heavy silence passed.

"They'd think what?" Matt asked, looking at his father in confusion.

Spencer sighed heavily as he started to shake some of the spice into the pan. "Nothing, Matt. Forget I said anything."

"Daddy?" Percival said, pulling a piece of paper out of one of the bags. "What's this?"

Spencer turned off the stove in alarm, looking at his youngest son in concern. "Give that to me, Perce, right now."

Percival did so, his eyes wide. "Daddy?"

Spencer took the notice from the government calling him to court from his son rather quickly. "That's nothing, nothing of importance."

Natalie caught a glimpse of it as he slipped it into his back pocket. "Why does it say taxes?"

"I said it's nothing," Spencer snapped, then feeling horrible upon seeing the looks all three of his kids were giving him. "Alright, fine. Do not repeat this anywhere, but I…I was struggling to afford a few things so I skimped on my taxes last year and it's biting me in the ass. Don't repeat, that don't repeat any of this, and please don't bring it up when you see aunt Emmeline tomorrow. Please, I'm embarrassed enough as it is."

Natalie shared a long look with Matt and Percival, and all three of them quickly ran over to embrace their father.

"We won't tell," Percival promised. "We love you, daddy."

"Yeah!" Matt agreed. "And you're awesome."

Natalie nodded as she looked up at him. "It's going to be okay, daddy."

Spencer swallowed hard, but then nodded weakly. "I sure hope so."


	59. Chapter 59

_**February 15th  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
2:34 PM**_

"Em, please, I am literally begging you to help me," Spencer said as he looked at his sister, who sighed. "I know that it was a mistake, and I'm not going to do something like this again because it caused way too much bullshit, but I need you to pay me out of this."

"Spencer," Emmeline said gently. "You're asking me to drop six grand because you didn't pay your taxes like you were supposed to last year."

"I fucked up," Spencer said, his voice shaking. "But you know -"

"I know you're in a better place now, and I know that you're making progress," She said, then sighing. "But it's still a lot of money."

"What is?" Emmett asked as he stepped into the room. "Emmy, we're more than rich, we could drop a couple hundred thousand, maybe a million, on another house -"

"I just need six thousand to pay off to the government what I didn't pay in taxes last year," Spencer said quickly, and Emmett raised an eyebrow. "Emmett -"

"I mean, it's not that much for us, Emmy," He said, wrapping an arm around her waist and giving her a gentle squeeze. "We can give him the money no problem, and that will keep him out of court and out of jail."

Emmeline hesitated, but then nodded "Alright."

Spencer sighed in relief. "Just…please don't tell Ronnie and Brianna."

"I won't," She promised. "They'd take it the wrong way –"

"They'd take it as an excuse to take my kids away from me," Spencer replied, a tinge of bitterness in his voice. "I know they would."

Emmett glanced towards his wife but then shook his head. "That depends…"

"What's there to depend?" Spencer exclaimed, burying his face in his hands. "They hate me…"

"I think they hate everyone," Emmett remarked, prompting Emmeline to slap his arm. "What? You can't say that's not true."

"Ronnie's still my brother, no matter how much of a pain in the ass he can be," Emmeline said, then giving Spencer a sharp look. "If anything, please just be careful. Your kids need you just as much as you need them, so please don't get yourself into this kind of mess again."

Spencer nodded weakly. "Alright, I'm so sorry I had to ask you two –"

"It's not that big a deal," Emmett said. "Really."

"What's not a big deal?" Cristal asked as she stepped into the room, adjusting her glasses as she walked. "And are you okay, Spencer?"

"No…" He mumbled. "I don't think I've been okay for a long time…"

Cristal sent him a sympathetic look. "I don't know what to tell you."

"You don't have to try," He said quietly. "I'm just relieved that my sister's dragging me out of a mess I got myself into."

Cristal raised an eyebrow, her grey eyes wide in surprise as she looked to Emmeline. "What's he talking about?"

"Emmett and I are bailing him out on his taxes from last year," She said tiredly. "Six thousand lien."

Cristal grimaced. "That's a lot."

Emmett scoffed. "Oh, come on Chrissy, you and I both know –"

"For most people," She amended. "That's a lot of money to owe to the government."

"That's what happens if you're stupid and try to evade taxes for a year," Spencer said quietly. "Believe me, it's horrible. At least them paying it off will keep me out of court and out of jail…"

Emmeline gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know."

Emmett pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. "I love you, you know that?"

She smiled. "Emmett…"

"You two are lucky," Spencer sighed heavily as he stood up. "Honestly, I'm damn jealous of you two."

"Spencer," Emmeline said, shaking her head. "What happened to Arianna wasn't your fault, it was –"

"I know," He said, jamming his hands into his jean pockets. "But the fact that I couldn't save her...well, that makes it worse."

"Spencer?" Ozpin paused for a moment as he came into the room. "I didn't realise you were going to be –"

"It's fine," He said shortly as the other man gently embraced Cristal. "Honestly, I'm damn jealous of you two as well. No matter how hard I try, it seems like I'm always just…just bad luck. It's everywhere, and it's been that way my entire life. I don't even have access to my fucking semblance despite my aura being unlocked, and I've been trying to access my semblance for years. Sometimes I wonder…how dangerous is my luck to not only me but to my family?"

"Spencer –" Emmeline started.

"Later," He said as he headed towards the door. "I don't want to think too hard about all this, really. Maybe I'm just a bad luck charm, who knows?"

Emmett sighed heavily as he heard the door downstairs click shut. "I don't understand what's happened to him either. Nothing that's been handed to him has been fair."

"I agree," Emmeline said. "Our dad holds the accomplishments and positions of everyone else in the family over his head to remind him of what he could be, but it accomplishes the opposite."

Ozpin was silent for a long moment but then spoke. "The way Spencer was describing his aura and supposed lack of semblance reminds me a lot Qrow."

Cristal looked to him surprise. "You think that he and Qrow have the same semblance?"

"It's possible," Ozpin admitted. "Although it seems to have taken its toll a bit more noticeably on Spencer."

"That's probably just because of the family name," Emmeline reminded him. "The Branwens aren't a major political family with money and power, but we, the Ciels, are."

Cristal bit her lip. "I just hope my daughter's…magic won't hurt her."

Ozpin gave her a gentle squeeze. "Courtney's going to be just fine, I promise. And we'll both help her with her semblance and her powers."

Cristal nodded although the anxiety she carried did not leave her. "I sure hope so."

* * *

"You doing okay, Win?" Qrow asked as he poked his head into her office, startling her. "Sorry, I –"

"Qrow…" She started, sounding almost exasperated. "I've got multiple different reports to finish drawing up, not to mention –"

"I just wanted to step in quickly to make sure that you're okay," He said, and she sighed. "Especially since I leave for my mission in a few days."

She motioned him in. "I'm sure it will be fine, you're just going to Vale."

"I ain't worried about me, I'm worried about you," He replied. "I know I'm going to be gone until the twenty third, and –"

"I know, you're reporting on the grimm concentrations in Mountain Glenn and then briefly checking out Beacon," She shook her head. "It's going to be fine, Qrow."

"I hope so," He said, glancing at her nervously. "I'm worried enough as it is."

"I know you are," She said, looking back at her reports and starting to type again. "Believe me, I'm a bit nervous myself but everything's going to work itself out. Although I'd appreciate it in the future if you'd refrain from telling my superiors things that I'd rather inform them of formally and on my own."

Qrow nodded. "I was just worried ol' Ironwood might push you too far."

She rolled her eyes. "The General understands what it's like to have people to take care of, Qrow."

"Yeah, he and Glynda made that clear," Qrow said as he stepped over towards her desk and placed a hand on her shoulder. "He and I don't always see eye to eye, but I think in the end he means well even if sometimes I question his logic."

"Well," Winter said, turning slightly to look at him. "He did comment that you seem desperately concerned that your semblance will hurt me or our baby."

Qrow swore under his breath. "Well played, James."

Winter stared at him for a moment but then sighed. "Qrow, why didn't you tell me how bad your fear is?"

He hesitated. "Win, you already know what it's caused before, you already know my history with my family. I think, honestly, it's just grown over time…and I don't really know how to stop trying to look over my shoulder."

She nodded. "Qrow, do you really think I would say I think it's going to be fine if I didn't?"

He shook his head. "Of course not, you're too –"

"Schnee, there are a few things regarding the Merlot –" James paused upon seeing Qrow. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Qrow shrugged as he stepped towards the other man. "Well, I was looking for Ronnie Ciel to call out on his bullshit, but, it turns out, he's hard to find."

James crossed his arms. "How do you even have the security clearance to be here?"

"Oz," Qrow replied. "Remember?"

James sighed. "Qrow, I'm going to give you a minute to leave so I can discuss classified, _government_ information with Winter."

She sent Qrow a sharp look. "I'll see you later, okay? Stop worrying all the time."

Qrow hesitated in the doorway and then looked back to her. "You know how I am."

James waited until Qrow all but slammed the door to go on. "Merlot made some rather…disturbing suggestions yesterday regarding some of the people he and Watts were and continue to work with."

"Define disturbing," She replied, a bit dryly. "Is that relating to the things they did or wanted to do and likeminded people, or does it relate to officials on the Council?"

"Not in Atlas," James said. "In Vacuo."

Winter raised an eyebrow. "Who on the Vacuoian Council could have ties to them?"

"According to Merlot, several lower level people but also…" James hesitated but then went on regardless. "He made the allegation that Prime Minister Varna of Vacuo is involved with them."

Winter shook her head. "He's grasping at straws."

"He might not be," James admitted. "Varna's a secretive woman, and, years ago, was briefly part of the group. She could very well have switched sides, maybe they, and _Her_ , offered her something she truly wanted."

Winter considered that. "What could Rosalinde Varna have to gain from people like Watts and Merlot?"

"Power, prestige, money," James suggested, and she sighed. "Or something darker."

Winter was silent for a moment before speaking. "Doesn't Varna have access to magic through a glyph she was branded with by her mother? According to Ozpin –"

"Oz is correct about that, yes," James sent a cursory glance out the window where the city life was still going about usually and with fervour. "But what makes that worse is that no one knows where her true allegiances may lie."

"I have a few guesses," Winter replied. "And almost all of them circle around herself."

* * *

The violet eyed woman scowled at the elevator doors as they opened, and she briskly walked out with her heels clicking menacingly against the floor. "I thought I told them that they should know better than to pull stunts like that."

The young assistant who was following her bit her lip. "With things going the way they are right now –"

"I am fully aware of what's going on in Atlas and in the rest of the world, thank you very much," The woman snapped. "The last few weeks have been absolute hell around here, and security being idiots is not making it better."

"That plot against our Council was avoided –" The assistant reminded her.

"And if it hadn't been?" The woman countered. "This entire kingdom would be damned!"

"Prime Minister Varna," A guard said, stepping towards the violet eyed woman and motioning to a nearby room. "There's someone here who wants to speak with you."

Varna turned to her assistant as she adjusted the rose pin in her hair. "I can handle this alone."

The young woman nodded as Varna was guided into the room and the door clicked behind her.

"So," Varna said, tapping her fingers against a nearby coffee table. "I hear that my presence was requested."

"Yes, it was," Another woman said, turning around in a chair nearby and standing up, her amber eyes sparkling. "It's been a long time, Rose."

Varna scowled, crossing her arms. "Hello to you too, Ashlynn."

The former Schnee rolled her eyes. "Cinder."

"I know," Varna said, beginning to circle the woman with her heels clicking. "What do you want?"

"You knew once you joined us all those years ago that you could never truly escape Her, didn't you?" Cinder smirked a little when Varna tensed. "Don't worry, none of us can blame you for your time away, especially since your position as the prime minister of Vacuo puts us at an advantage."

Varna raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

Cinder laughed but then activated her maiden powers and set a hand to her hip. "Well, my dear Rosalinde, you'll see. You'll see."

* * *

Ronnie awkwardly stepped into the room, closing the door quietly behind him. "Brie, I know things have been busy since the gala –"

"And what makes you say that?" She replied as she continued to type up her proposal for a new research project. "We've seen each other every night, we still sleep in the same bed, we're still –"

"Brianna," Ronnie said, his voice soft. "I don't want us to be fighting all the time."

She scowled at her computer for a moment but then shook her head, saved her work, and closed it. Then, she stood up and came around to the front of her desk, leaning against it with her arms crossed.

"Ronnie, I don't want that either," She said. "And I'm sorry I've been snappish, I've had a long couple of weeks."

He hesitantly embraced her. "I wish you had told me, and I'm sorry I haven't been more patient."

She stared at him in surprise. "Oh, Ronnie…"

"I know that this might technically be out of place, but…" He paused for a moment as he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "I love you."

She sighed. "I know you do," She murmured. "And you know I love you."

"I shouldn't have blown up at you the other day," He said, still holding her close. "I know it made things awkward later too."

"That whole gala was awkward," Brianna muttered, rolling her eyes. "I genuinely hate all the formal functions and whatnot, but because of our positions in the government…"

"It's stupid," Ronnie agreed, then sighing. "But we don't really get a choice in the matter."

"Which is ironic, considering how much we talk about the power of freedom and choice at those events," Brianna smiled a tiny bit but then frowned. "Your dad's seemed a bit…off…lately, though. I can't help but wonder what's bothering him."

"To be honest, I don't think anyone ever knows," He admitted. "It could be Spencer, per usual, or it could be Nicole and everything that she's involved in."

"Have they set her first date in court yet?" She asked, and he shook his head. "Of course they haven't."

"Things run slow around here sometimes, especially with things that people just don't want to deal with," He gently released her but took her hands in his. "Although maybe that could work out in our favour."

She raised an eyebrow. "We are not having sex here in my office, we'll get caught –"

Ronnie started laughing, causing her to look at him in confusion. "Honey," He said, squeezing her hands. "I wasn't suggesting that."

"Then what were you suggesting?" She asked him, and he sent her a pointed look. "Are you serious?"

"I shouldn't have snapped at you the other night when you suggested it," He said, and she smiled. "I've wanted us to have a family for a while now, and now that you're ready I…I've thought about it rationally and I don't think we should wait anymore."

She embraced him tightly. "That's good to know."

"And, I know I already said it, but I don't want our marriage to be defined by us fighting," He said, and she nodded. "I don't know what we have to do, but I want things to work out because I honestly think you are the only person in this world that can handle me."

She smirked. "Ah, so you're finally admitting it."

"I should have sooner," He replied. "You have a way with me that I don't always understand but love either way."

She turned a little pink in spite of herself. "Ronnie, please don't flatter me…"

He relented. "Sorry."

"Let's just hope that things don't go to hell for us," She said, and he nodded. "I want things to be alright, and if we're going to have a family then I want it to be stable."

"I do too," Ronnie said, biting his lip as he pushed up his glasses. "Brie, how do you want to try and…resolve our issues?"

She hesitated. "More open communication…but if things get rough enough, we should see a counselor."

Ronnie sighed. "Alright."

"I want us to be happy," She murmured as she wrapped her arms tightly around him. "I really do…"

Ronnie nodded, pulling her as close to him as he could whilst fighting back tears. "I want that too, honey, I want that too…"

* * *

Salem scoffed as she passed through various members of Ozpin's group through her seer. "Pathetic, and the Adels and Morells thinking that things will get better for them? Not if Cinder and Watts have anything to do with it."

She flicked her seer then to Cinder herself, sighing heavily as she watched the young woman's interactions with Prime Minister Rosalinde Diana Varna of Vacuo. "The fear hasn't left the woman," She remarked, her gaze staying on Varna. "You're lucky you're useful and in a high position. If not, I might not be so merciful."

Salem flicked the seer back to Elizabeth Morell.

"…Caitlin, goosie, what the hell are you so worried about?" The head of Atlesian National Security council scowled at the crowded road ahead of her as she continued to drive. "…I don't understand what could have made you so anxious that you –"

"…Cas and I found out that Ozpin lied about the Relic Of Knowledge and we used it to it's full capacity," The green eyed girl blurted out, her anxiety written all over her face and in her disheveled bangs and bronze waves. "…I'm sorry, mommy, but –"

"…Thank god you're alright," She said, turning to look at her in concern. "…I'll keep this between us, dear, I promise. I don't lie to you."

"…I know…" The girl murmured.

"…Caity…" Elizabeth said gently. "…What did you find out?"

Caitlin Morell swallowed hard but then spoke regardless, her high voice shaking. "…Ozpin himself can't defeat Salem, Prime Minister Varna is an agent of Salem's or something like that, and we have everything to lose."

Elizabeth paled alongside her daughter, both of them looking far more milky than usual. "…Oh my god…"

Salem waved her hand impatiently to the Ciels, but she raised an eyebrow as she saw Spencer Ciel in his red pickup truck with his eldest, his daughter, sitting in the passenger seat.

"...Natalie," Spencer said gently. "...There's nothing bad about having silver eyes. I know it's uncommon, but your mom had to them too. You and Arianna are pretty similar, actually, and I..."

"...Everyone says they're weird," The girl mumbled. "...And that there's a legend surrounding them that's damning..."

Spencer slammed on the brakes and swore as his car was almost hit by an oncoming BMW. "...Damn you, you rich bastard!"

Natalie couldn't stop herself from giggling.

Spencer sighed as he started his car again. "...Sorry, I'm just...fuck..."

Natalie smacked the ignition, expecting it to do nothing but her smack seemingly fixed whatever the problem was. "I fixed it, daddy!"

Spencer grinned as he turned briefly to his daughter, running a hand through his shaggy dark hair. "...Yeah, you did. You're good at keeping me in line, even though your still my little girl. Actually, nix that. You'll always be my little girl, no matter how old you get."

Natalie nodded. "...Are you sure you're okay, daddy?"

Spencer sighed heavily once more. "...Honestly, Natalie, I think I'm probably just bad luck...a bad luck charm."

"Another silver eyed warrior..." Salem murmured. "And a Ciel...that does not bode well, not with the family involved."

Salem dismissed the seer, reveling her temporary victory before it sunk in that not only was there another silver eyed warrior from that line to deal with apart from the Rose line, and that the Relic Of Knowledge was rendered useless for the next hundred years. Allowing her anger to take her over, she stood up and flipped the table over, then shattering the windows only to repair them and destroy them again, her eyes flaring more dangerously than ever.


	60. Chapter 60

_**February 22nd  
Beacon Academy  
City Of Vale  
Vale  
Downtown  
1:34 AM**_

Qrow sighed heavily as he stepped off the transport, Harbinger in hand, and into the main grounds of Beacon Academy. "Well…" He muttered to himself. "Seems like a bit of this has gotten better."

Glancing around, he began to walk towards Beacon Tower which he intended to see first. The night was surprisingly clear, and the lights from the main City Of Vale could be clearly seen across the water. There was very little wind aside from the occasional sharp, chilled breeze, and the lights of the Beacon auditorium were on. He presumed that Port and Oobleck were in there – either asleep or working – and he continued on towards Beacon Tower. His thoughts slowly began to drift away from his mission as he walked through the courtyard and rather fell on Winter. He was relieved, however much he valued his work as a huntsman, that he would see her the next day, although he was less thrilled by the prospect of dealing with the Ciels – something that he had been informed by James would increase upon his return. Ignoring that fact, he shook himself out and forced himself to not worry as best he could.

He paused just outside of the entrance to Beacon Tower in order to pull out his scroll. Opening it as he got to the door, he was quickly recognized and allowed access. He stepped into the elevator and all but jammed his finger into the button to the headmaster's office. Slipping his scroll into his back pocket, he considered pulling out his flask and having a small drink but decided that could wait. Instead, he tiredly rubbed his eyes as the elevator made its seemingly eternal ascent to the top of the tower. Upon the doors finally opening, he stepped out and began to look around the all too familiar room. He couldn't stop his thoughts from returning to what they had discussed with the young Miss Nikos who he knew had died not far above where he stood. As he walked over to the window, he felt a familiar sense of guilt rise in that he could not push away. Scowling out at the night, he tried to clear his thoughts but was instead interrupted by the last person he had expected to see there.

"The people in Atlas and on its Council really do overestimate their power and place in this world," The haughty voice drawled, stepping out from one of the smaller, adjoining rooms. "How else would I have known you'd be here had I not stolen their information? Such pride, such…ignorance."

Qrow turned in shock, his eyes narrowing upon seeing the man. "Watts. I see you've still got a massive stick up your –"

"Now, now," Watts said with a faint smirk. "There's no reason to be aggressive, little bird."

Qrow set a hand on Harbinger defensively. "What do you want?"

"You mean what does Salem want," Watts replied. "Which is quite a number of things."

"None of them good," Qrow snapped. "At least for people other than her. You really think she's above damning her allies?"

"You make it sound as if Ozpin has not done the same things, that he hasn't done exactly what you are accusing her of," Watts countered, his voice eerily calm. "You are blinded by your faith in Ozpin, no matter how many times that the man has been behind things that have caused you pain."

Qrow glared. "You don't –"

"I know exactly what I'm talking about," Watts cut across the other man quickly, and set his hand on his own weapon. "You don't seem to realise that some of the people you ally yourself with will betray you. One of them already has, one of the leaders of the Academies."

"I know about Lionheart –" Qrow started.

"Ah," Watts said, clicking his tongue derisively. "But I'm not talking about Lionheart. I'm talking about a certain woman with violet eyes."

Qrow was stunned for a moment in confusion. "No," He eventually said. "Rose isn't working for Salem."

"You're so hopeful, but that's where you're wrong," Watts said, stepping closer to the other man. "I hope you know that, according to Salem, even Elizabeth Morell's daughter knows the truth, that Salem cannot be defeated, and that Varna isn't on your side. By the measure, Elizabeth herself knows too."

Qrow began to respond, but he was cut short by Watts firing an intentional warning shot just past his shoulder. Preparing to pull out his scythe, he missed the chance on that as well by Watts casting his gun aside and engaging the other man in a physical fight. His aura activated immediately upon Watts' fist making harsh contact just under his jaw, although he reacted fast enough to kick the man in the hip – something which shoved him into the headmaster's desk. Watts scowled as he steadied himself once more and he and Qrow began to throw punches again. The red eyed man's fist made contact first with Watts' nose and his opponent was inhibited further by a swift kick, once again, to the hip. However, what he didn't know was that the two men were being watched by two others – two others who were not aware of the others presence. Watts barely sild out of the way of yet another kick, and then ducked out of what would have been a damaging punch the face.

In this time, he managed to grasp the other man's leg and, in a swift motion, flip him over. Qrow's aura shimmered more as he continued to work against the other man's assault, although he found himself struggling in spite of himself. Finally regaining what seemed to be the upper hand, he punched Watts hard enough in the stomach to knock the other man to another end of the room. Sensing that he was in legitimate danger, Watts took advantage of being cast to near his gun and, too fast for Qrow to stop him, retrieved it and shot the man harshly in the shoulder. The bullet would have slid clean through had it not been for the man's diminishing, but still present, aura but it instead lodged itself within his shoulder. He gave out a cry of pain as the bullet pierced him, yet he still forced himself up to throw another punch at Watts. He was not fast enough, however, and found himself punched harsh enough in the side of the head by another, not Watts, to fall over and begin to lose consciousness in spite of his aura which he would later owe his life.

"That was longer than I had wanted it to be," Watts said, addressing his partner although neither of them realised that there was still another in the room. "But it seems we've made our point. If he dies, then that's one more thing that Salem wants but, for now, I think we're sending a pretty good message to the kingdom of Atlas."

Tyrion laughed almost maniacally. "Well, it's not as if you haven't been trying to do that for years."

Watts narrowed his eyes at the man upon the jest. "And what have you ever done of much value?"

Tyrion's laughter ceased as they stepped into the elevator and left a severely injured and barely conscious Qrow behind. "What?"

Watts rolled his eyes as the elevator doors closed. "Such ignorance…" He muttered.

A long moment passed in silence, Qrow only being able to feel his head throbbing and the pain wracking his body. After the two men had been gone for perhaps a minute or perhaps an hour – he could not tell – heels clicked against the floor and a cool hand brushed over his forehead.

"Damnation…" The woman swore under her breath. "You're lucky I'm playing both sides, otherwise you'd be completely fucked this time."

The last thing he saw before his eyes fell shut and his consciousness slipped away from him were all too familiar violet eyes – the eyes of the woman that Watts had claimed to be not who she seemed.

"You really are…" Varna trailed off as she struggled to lift him up, then giving in and using her magic to do so. "I can't even imagine what the people in Atlas are going to think when they see this. After all, it's not as if they're too fond of accidents. Ironically, they place so much faith in people who are just as flawed as the rest of us, people who have chosen their sides. Like you, very much. In the end, I suppose maybe we all do have to pick a side…or at least act as if we have. What you, what the rest of them, don't understand is that you're all damned because, at the end of the day, I have nothing to lose but you? You all have _everything_ to lose."

* * *

" _Spencer," Arianna Ciel said, brushing his shaggy dark hair away from his eyes. "I'm telling you, we're going to be okay."_

 _He bit his lip. "Anna, I'm not so sure. You heard what my brother said –"_

" _Your brother is an asshole," She said. "Frankly, he only cares about himself."_

" _What about Natalie, Perce, and Matt?" Spencer said worriedly. "What if he really is trying to take them away from us?"_

" _Oh, for fuck's sake, your brother doesn't want anything to do with kids," Arianna shook her head as the two of them sat down on the edge of their bed. "You and I both know how 'well' he gets along with Cas."_

 _Spencer laughed. "He and Cas hate each other."_

" _I'm not sure I'd go that far," She replied with a faint smirk. "But I would go as far as to say that the two of them are never going to see eye to eye on anything that matters, it seems. A bit like Emmeline and your father. As much as they get along, the two of them see things rather differently and she's never been above informing people more than they need because of circumstances."_

" _Em's had it rough," Spencer said, glancing at his hands. "Honestly, I'm just impressed by her ability to handle work, all the family drama, and her daughter. She lost Emmett years ago, but the two of them –"_

" _It was horrible, I agree," Arianna sighed. "I still can't believe that we had been teenagers at the time."_

" _Really makes this world feel all the more worse," Spencer said, and she nodded. "I just hope that our kids have an easier time than most. I know we can't protect them from all pain…but we can stop them from suffering more than necessary, can't we?"_

" _Not if the world we live in has anything to say about it," She said darkly. "It seems like all the world wants to do is damn us all to hell."_

" _The grimm, the White Fang," Spencer counted off. "What more could make this world even more of a perfect storm?"_

 _Arianna giggled in spite of herself. "Maybe that fabled 'Salem' being real."_

 _Spencer kissed her cheek. "Thank god at least the legends and fairytales aren't real. We'd be even worse off than we are."_

 _The scene shifted into the hallways of the government offices of the Atlesian Council, seemingly on the ground floor._

" _Are you sure that the –" The reporter paused to catch her breath as she walked with Spencer Ciel, at that time a mid ranking investigator for the Council, who was a bit faster than most. "Mister Ciel, do you really think that –"_

" _Yes, I think that they're guilty," Spencer said shortly, adjusting his computer bag as he reached the doors. "Even with simply what the public is allowed to see, it's clear that they're guilty of more than just murder, which, of course, they are."_

" _Dr. Watts in particular, yes?" The reporter questioned, and Spencer turned at the door to look at her._

" _Yes," He said. "And it should be noted that the Council revoked his title a while back."_

" _Of course," The woman said, taking note of that in her scroll and calling after him as he stepped out of the building. "Mister Ciel, one last –"_

" _Anna!" Spencer called out as his wife pulled up her car near the curb. "I didn't realise that you were –"_

" _Well, I –" She started with a smile._

 _But she was brutally cut off by a – as the Council would later discover to have been stolen – Mercedes that was being driven by an amber eyed woman with ashy hair and an all too familiar face. It happened in an instant, her convertible was smashed beyond repair, the smell of burning and metal filling the air first after the sound of metal slamming into and scratching metal. After, the smell of gasoline filled the air as the flames erupted from the two vehicles. In that moment, and in the longer ones that followed, all he could feel was numb and he felt almost like a ghost at the scene while embers fell at his feet and surrounding the area, and the amber eyed woman responsible got away because of the flaming cars…_

"Daddy?" Natalie asked, her voice weak. "Wake up…"

Spencer groaned, groggily opening his eyes. "What is it, Natalie?"

She started to speak but broke off in coughs. "I…" The nine year old eventually started to get out. "I think I need more medicine."

Spencer sighed as he got out of bed and motioned her to follow him into the kitchen. "Yeah, you do. I wish you hadn't come down with whatever this is, it can't be pleasant."

Natalie shook her head. "It's icky, I feel icky."

Spencer bit his lip as he pulled the cough medicine down from the highest cabinet in which he also kept the diamorphine and his needles.

"Daddy?" Natalie stared at him, her silver eyes wide even as she broke off in cougs again. "Are you okay?"

Spencer forced himself to be steady as he poured the dosage of the dark liquid and handed it to his daughter. "Yeah, I'm fine, Natalie. Don't worry about me, just focus on relaxing a little so you can get better."

She nodded and, albeit with some hesitance, swallowed the liquid. Grimacing as she set the medicine cup aside, she sighed. "That's gross."

"I agree," Spencer said, ruffling her forehead and then handing her a cracker. "That should help."

She nibbled at it for a minute before finishing it quickly. "It does."

"I'm sorry you don't feel well, really," Spencer said, picking her up and carrying the small girl back to her room. "I just hope you're better before I go back to work on March the third."

"Will I come with you if I'm not?" She asked him.

"No," Spencer said. "I'll call out and tell them I'm staying home to take care of my daughter because it's more important for me to make sure my family is okay than it is for me to get a full paycheck this month or something stupid like that. I care more about the three of you than I care about money, I really do."

Natalie nodded. "You're a good daddy."

Spencer smiled sadly. "I'm glad you think so, because sometimes I'm not so sure."

She sighed as he set her down and she climbed back into her bed while he stood in the doorway. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

Spencer shook his head. "No, if you ever need anything, Natalie, you know that you and your brothers can always wake me up."

"Okay…" She said sleepily.

"Get some sleep, Natalie," Spencer said gently as he closed the door. "Hopefully it will be better than mine…"

Leaning against the door for a moment, he clenched his fists as he walked back to his room, biting back the desire to fall asleep after numbing his pain with some of the diamorphine he had in the medicine cabinet. This time, his will won out and, however horrible he felt as he shut the door to his room, laid down once more, and stared up at the ceiling, struggling to sleep. Finally giving up on sleep, he reached over and picked up his scroll, deciding to call one of the people he felt might be able to tell him if he truly was a magnet for misfortune.

"Ozpin?" Spencer said as the line clicked on the other end. "I have a few questions."

He sighed. "About your daughter's eyes?"

Spencer raised an eyebrow. "What? Is there something about Natalie's silver eyes that –"

"Spencer," Ozpin said tiredly. "Your daughter is only nine, so please don't tell her what I'm going to tell you."

He hesitated. "Alright," He eventually said. "What's so important about her eyes?"

"Natalie is a silver eyed warrior," Ozpin informed him. "Her eyes, in short, have the power to freeze or destroy grimm when all but blinding lights, inspired by strong emotion, leave them. It's what allowed Ruby to freeze that grimm atop Beacon Tower two years ago in October."

Spencer took in a sharp breath. "So my daughter –"

"Yes, Salem is going to want to go after her," Ozpin hesitated but went on regardless. "Spencer, we'll keep her safe, we'll do everything we can to make sure that things don't go to hell."

He bit his lip. "Who else has them?"

"Other than Ruby?" Ozpin sighed. "Talk to Maria Calavera. She's still in the kingdom, and she's a friend of Elizabeth Morell's…to an extent, anyways. She'll be at the offices of the Council tomorrow, see if you can talk to her then."

Spencer was silent for a long moment. "Okay, I will," He said. "But one more thing."

"What's that?" Ozpin questioned. "Spencer?"

"I know you might not have the answer," Spencer said slowly. "But do you have any idea why bad luck seems to follow me like a shadow?"

Ozpin hesitated again. "Spencer, are you –"

"Yes, I'm sure," He snapped, then calming himself. "Sorry, I –"

"Spencer, I know you think you don't have a semblance, but I think you do," Ozpin said. "You should talk to Qrow about this sooner rather than later, but I think that you two might both have the same semblance."

Spencer bit his lip. "Bad luck?" He said weakly.

Ozpin sighed. "Yes."

"Of course," Spencer said, shaking his head. "What else…"

"Spencer, if you think you're a bad person, you're wrong," Ozpin told him. "You're a very good person, really, it's just that bad things have happened to you. But that doesn't define you, and it doesn't define your future. It's going to be alright."

Spencer laughed dryly, but then sighed. "With my luck, I wouldn't hold my breath…"


	61. Chapter 61

_**February 23rd  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
5:32 PM**_

"Qrow," Winter said gently as she took his hand although he was still all but tied to the bed in ICU. "What happened?"

He sighed as he shifted as best he could to look at her. "Other than Watts shooting me a couple of times, I'm not sure. I heard a woman's voice, it sounded pretty familiar, but I don't remember anything until waking up here in Atlas."

"We don't know who brought him into the kingdom," Dr. Steele replied, her voice clipped. "Our sources have the airship he was brought in on as being from Vale, but how he got on it is a mystery to us. Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck apparently flew him here, but we don't know how he got on that ship. It wasn't by his own accord, to say the very least."

Qrow groaned. "Well, I know it wasn't Oobleck who -"

"And who do you think it was?" Steele looked at him sharply. "You say the female voice was relatively familiar, but, assuming it was not a hallucination, it was not your wife's, it was not your niece's, it was not Cristal Schnee's, it was not Elizabeth Morell's, it was not Glynda Goodwitch's. Based on what General Ironwood said when he heard about you being admitted into the hospital yesterday afternoon, you work with and/or see and/or have a close personal relationship with those women. So, unless you have a more plausible explanation for someone who is familiar to you but that was not in the kingdom at the time of the attempt on your life, I would write it off to nothing more or less than a hallucination and leave it at that."

Qrow groaned. "I was not hallucinating!"

"Then, pray tell, is your plausible explanation?" Steele countered. "Because it seems that your claim is lacking all basis in fact."

A weighty silence passed.

"Look," Qrow finally said. "I ain't got a clue, but I know what I heard. And I ain't crazy. I can guarantee that."

Steele narrowed her eyes for a moment but then shook her head. "You need time to relax and distance yourself from this matter. I'm sure that an experience like this is traumatising -"

"Dr. Steele," Qrow said tiredly. "Can I please just have some time alone so that I can speak with my wife?"

Steele pursed her lips, but then nodded. "Of course."

Winter sighed as the woman left the room. "Qrow -"

"Do you believe me?" He asked her. "Win?"

She nodded. "I do, I just wish that you knew who it was."

"I feel like she had violet eyes, but I ain't sure," Qrow shook his head. "I blacked out pretty quickly...I'm not even quite sure what they did to me but, clearly, whatever it was, it was nasty."

Winter took one of his hands in his. "Qrow, I'm so sorry -"

"I'm just glad I'm still alive," He said. "I don't want to think too hard about what might have happened to you and the baby if I had died."

"Qrow, I…" Winter bit her lip. "I was terrified when they told me you were in the hospital because you had been attacked. This was supposed to be a routine, no resistance mission -"

"I know," He said, then shaking his head. "That makes all of this worse. I'm a fully trained huntsman, and Watts is a man with a stick up his ass and a lust for power that seems to give him more than just -"

"Qrow, what happened was not your fault," Winter said, her words sharp although she looked at him lovingly. "It wasn't, it -"

"Was bad luck," He countered. "Which just so happens to be my semblance."

"Qrow, stop blaming yourself for every shitty thing that happens to you!" Winter stared at him for a moment before sighing and running a hand through her disheveled white hair. "It's not good for you, and, to be perfectly honest, it worries me!"

Qrow's red eyes went wide in surprise. "It does?"

"Qrow, I don't want you to be hurting yourself because it's only going to hurt me and, soon enough, our child," Winter squeezed his hand gently as she went on. "Whatever this problem of yours is, we need to work through it because if we don't it's going to damage us."

He nodded weakly. "Alright."

"But, either way," She said. "I love you, Qrow, and I…"

She trailed off and instead of finishing her statement pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

"I love you too," He murmured. "And I'll try to be better if you want me too."

She moved herself as close to him as possible and awkwardly rested her head on his chest. "That's fine for now."

"I want our family to be okay," He said. "I want things to work out, but I don't want to endanger you or our child because I'm bad luck."

"You won't," Winter said with conviction. "Qrow, you -"

"You don't know that, Win…" He said, his voice breaking in spite of himself. "What if I do?"

"Qrow…" Winter said, sighing. "Please believe me on this."

He hesitated, but then nodded. "Alright…"

"Listen," She said gently. "You went through something horrible, but you're fine now or at least going to be. Nothing has changed between us, I'm perfectly fine, and the baby's healthy. For now, things are going to be fine. Don't worry about things that haven't happened because it's just going to make things worse for you."

"You really do know how to calm me down, don't you?" Qrow smiled a bit in spite of himself. "Maybe I do have a bit of good luck, after all, I have you."

"See?" Winter said. "It's going to get better, at least to some extent."

"Well, that did work out for Glynda and James…" Qrow sighed. "Maybe you're right, maybe I just need to take a step back from all this for awhile and focus on you and our family. And, since you can't go on active missions and have to stay in the kingdom…"

Winter rolled her eyes. "I take it this is your way of trying to say that you're going to get romantic?"

"Of course it is," Qrow said. "I love you, after all."

She smiled. "I love you too."

* * *

"Someone needs to answer for this," Ronnie Ciel said with finality. "Branwen himself said that he was attacked by Watts, and this is just adding to the list of crimes he's committed over the years. He has to answer for this, and I think that's something we all can agree on."

"You act as if we haven't been trying to do facilitate that for years," Elizabeth said dryly. "This situation is immensely complex, and, frankly, the amount of rumours I've heard about it in the last day since he arrived in the kingdom have been off putting."

"No kidding," Blake Adel said, crossing his arms. "And how do you propose to handle this situation?"

"Allocating more investigators to the existing investigation into Watts," Emmeline said, and he nodded. "That should at least help the situation. At the very least, it can't hurt."

Blake sighed. "This situation has been going on for far too long, and -"

"Yes, we all agree it's gone on too long," Elizabeth said calmly. "But that doesn't mean we can act rashly."

"I know," Blake said, biting his lip. "Sorry, I'm a bit too close to that issue."

"Yes, that's very clear," Ronnie said, and Blake scowled. "You just admitted it yourself -"

"You don't have to be a condescending -" Blake started irritably.

"Blake," Elizabeth said gently. "We can discuss this later."

He hesitated, but nodded. "Alright."

"The larger issue at play that we need to deal with are the rumours about Watts might be planning with this attack on Branwen," Elizabeth went on, her voice still remarkably calm. "And, as I said before, those have been raised in the last day since he arrived back in the kingdom."

Edward Ciel raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that a lot of people in the DFAMA think that this is part of some larger plot," She said, her tone perfectly clipped. "Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if it is."

Ciel considered that for a moment. "There is," He said slowly. "Some information that has come in recently from the Atlesian military base in Argus that might suggest that. Commanding Specialist Cordovan -"

"Is looking for every excuse for attention -" Karissa started.

"Is correct in stating that we may very well need to allocate resources into hunting down people like Watts," Ciel finished, sending her a pointed look. "As we did with Merlot and Jacques Gele."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Jacques was already in the kingdom and living openly in a mansion in the wealthiest neighbourhood in the capital while we knew almost exactly where Merlot was from the start. Those events are not comparable to dealing with Watts, whom we've been placing quite a bit of resources in hunting down towards in the last several years."

"Madame Morell, set your personal views on Cordovan aside," Ciel told her. "Yes, she can be a bit off putting but at the end of the day she is an intelligent leader who -"

"I disagree with that," Emmeline said dryly. "If I were her superior, she would have been discharged years ago. I hope everyone in this room recalls the time where she chased after Maria Calavera over cashews, let alone the time she brought out a top secret weapons equipment for the sake of chasing after - and failing to capture - a few high level members of the White Fang. Several outside psychiatrists believe that she has episodes of sub psychotic rage, that she's obsessed with power, and that -"

"General Ciel," Edward said sharply. "Aside from being irrelevant -"

"Aside from us making the mistake of sending someone we just simply don't want causing problems within the kingdom itself to oversee a major military base outside of it," Emmeline countered tensely. "This situation needs to be handled delicately or it's going to cause more problems than it's going to solve."

"Amen to that," Kiara muttered under her breath.

"The General's right," Elizabeth said. "None of this looks good, and, frankly, with the insinuation being that Watts was doing this under the direction of someone else -"

"Ashlynn Schnee -" Karissa interjected.

"We have more than one issue to resolve," Elizabeth concluded, sending Karissa an almost grateful look. "But, before we get into that, I have a concern I'd like to make clear regardless of its relevance to this issue at the present time."

Ciel nodded, adjusting his bowler hat. "Go on, Madame Morell."

"It seems like Rosalinde Varna, the PM of Vacuo, has been trying to hide something," She said carefully. "And I would like us to authorize an investigation into her communications records for the sake of clarity in the case that she might be involved with Nicole Ciel, who, just yesterday, told me that Varna has ties to Ashlynn Schnee and Watts."

Ronnie raised an eyebrow. "Why would the PM of Vacuo -"

"According to Miss Ciel," Elizabeth said, sending him a sharp look. "A desire for power and self preservation might be an explanation."

Kiara nodded. "I'll try and speak to her later to see if we can get more information from her."

"That makes sense," Emmeline agreed, although Ronnie looked at her almost in outrage. "What?"

"You all are pushing her too hard," Ronnie snapped. "If she's crazy now, she's going to be even more crazy after all this is over -"

"Your job is to manage and oversee diplomatic relations and promote our foreign policy, not to be concerned with matters of internal or external security from which you are recused," Elizabeth sharply reminded him. "You would do well to remember that."

Ronnie sighed heavily. "My apologies, Madame Morell."

"This matter is incredibly close to you, and I understand why it upsets you but at the end of the day this is necessary and proper," She said, although with a sympathetic look. "Don't waste time worrying about things you can't - and shouldn't - do anything about."

A heavy silence hung over the room following her words, only being broken upon Edward Ciel's scroll going off.

"Madame Morell, I believe we will have to finish this discussion later," He said as he stood up, and she nodded. "Madame Davis, please do look into the matter regarding Prime Minister Varna, and, Madame Morell, ensure alongside Madame Mar that the investigations into Watts and the attack on Qrow Branwen proceed smoothly."

"Of course," Elizabeth said shortly. "Meeting adjourned."

As they all left quickly, soon it was only her, Emmeline, and Blake left in the room.

"Allie and I have still been receiving threats from him," Blake said, glancing nervously out the window. "I don't think it needs saying that she's worried by it."

"We all are," Emmeline said. "Cinder scared the life out of Cas the other day by calling her scroll on video. It scared Emmett too, seeing his sister like that."

"She's not herself anymore," Elizabeth said, then swearing upon her own scroll going off. "Damn it. I have to finish up some of my reports, can we finish this later?"

Emmeline nodded. "Of course, just don't push yourself too hard."

Elizabeth sighed as she left the room with her heels clicking. "I'll try my best, but you know how I am…"

* * *

"Ah, Spencer Ciel!" Maria exclaimed as he stepped awkwardly into Elizabeth's office. "So glad you could meet me here!"

"Isn't this Lizzie's office?" He asked her, shifting a bit nervously as he closed the door. "We do have permission to be here, right?"

Maria shrugged. "Well, I notified her by email after she informed me that she'd been a security council meeting for a good chunk of the day, and she and I are friends. I'm sure if that meeting runs shorter that she'll get over whatever potential violation of privacy she might feel this is. Not that I understand how this could be an invasion of privacy, considering that I'm her aunt on her mother's side."

Spencer nodded uncomfortably as the older woman hopped up onto Elizabeth's desk, on which a rather large bag of cashews was left.

"So," Maria said, laying her cane across her lap and then reaching for the cashews. "Why do you want to know about silver eyes?"

Spencer sighed as he pulled out his scroll and then shifted through to a photograph of his daughter and his wife. "I think this can explain why."

Maria stared at the photograph for a long moment. "I take it that's your wife and one of your children?"

Spencer glanced at his wedding ring and then nodded. "Yes, although Anna died a few years back."

"Clearly your daughter inherited her eyes from your wife," Maria remarked, then tilting her head in a way which he took as sympathetic. "Did anyone say something to you about silver eyes before you contacted me at a ridiculous hour yesterday morning?"

Spencer bit his lip. "Ozpin did."

Maria shook her head. "Of course he did. He must want your daughter to learn to harness her powers."

Spencer swallowed hard. "Could that hurt her?"

Maria sighed. "Well, that depends. Using her eyes and harnessing her powers in and of itself can't hurt her, but if she chooses to become a huntress then, yes, she could be hurt."

"Well, what exactly do they do?" He asked her. "Silver eyes."

"They can freeze and/or destroy grimm," Maria informed him. "But only if one is trying to protect or save people they care about or love. Extreme emotional anguish can activate them as well, and I believe that's what happened to Ruby Rose the night of the Fall Of Beacon Academy."

Spencer rubbed his arm nervously. "So Natalie is 'destined' to be a silver eyed warrior?"

"You don't sound at all like you believe in destiny," Maria noted. "But, yes, although who's to say we can't defy our own fates?"

Spencer bit his lip. "Well, I…"

"Spencer," Maria said kindly. "I know from my niece the kind of things you've gone through and what you've been fighting with the last few years. I know you might feel that you're weak, but you're not. You've made progress, you've gotten better even if not entirely. Not to mention the fact that you've been a good father to your children even with everything. You're not a bad person, do not think for a moment that you are."

"I'm bad luck…" He said quietly. "I figured out last night that my semblance has been unlocked for years, that I'm just bad luck."

Maria shook her head. "Your semblance doesn't and shouldn't define you."

"How does it not?" He replied, glancing away. "How does it -"

"What in the -" Elizabeth paused as she all but tore open the door to her office, then sighing heavily upon seeing Maria. "Oh, god, aunt Maria -"

"If you're going to say I'm invading your privacy, then you should really give your daughter a good telling off for all the times she's eavesdropped on you over the years," Maria replied with a slight smirk. "But I'm glad to know that you haven't changed."

Spencer laughed in spite of himself. "Maybe we should have told you we'd be having a meeting in your office."

Elizabeth tiredly probed her forehead. "God, I don't have time for this…"

"Time for what?" Maria asked her. "Spending time with friends?"

Elizabeth crossed her arms. "That's not -"

"Oh, dear, relax," Maria said, waving her hand dismissively. "I'm just teasing you."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes but then shook her head. "Oh, alright, fine, I won't be as annoyed as I can be over this, but, for the love of all that is holy, give me better notice next time."

"Thank you!" Spencer exclaimed. "That means so much, Lizzie!"

Maria smiled. "Of course I will, dear, although I'd appreciate it if you told that old bat Cordo that she needs to pull that stick out of her ass and act like a sane human being, get her people and ego under control, etc if she doesn't want to lose her perceived power."

"I already have to do that for legitimate reasons," Elizabeth told her. "And, believe me, I am looking forward to it."

"That sounds typical," Spencer remarked. "And Cordo's always been a bit of a nutcase."

Maria laughed as she went back to her cashews. "Well, Elizabeth, just make sure to tell her if she tells me I'm a witch with no respect, inform her that my laughter is the sound of me not giving a damn."

Elizabeth couldn't help but smile. "I'll keep that in mind."

Maria stepped over to her much taller niece, despite the fact that Elizabeth herself was only 5'1'', and embraced her. "It's good to see that you're still living your life rather than hiding in fear. You've gone through so much, so many things that would have broken a lot of people. Really, Elizabeth, I'm proud of you."

She sighed. "I just hope that things don't go to hell, even with our efforts."

"It won't," Maira said. "And if it does, well, at least we tried."

Spencer shook his head. "Just trying isn't enough."

"That's where you're wrong," Maria replied, although swearing upon her scroll going off. "Damn that woman. How did she even know I'm in the kingdom?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Probably because Cordovan is still a commander in the military."

Maria scowled at her scroll but answered it nonetheless, albeit obnoxiously chewing her cashews. "I see the she-devil has the gall to talk to a woman she calls a witch. I hope they've managed to remove that stick from up your ass."

"For someone like you who can't follow the most basic laws regarding what can and cannot be brought into the kingdom of Atlas, you have remarkable nerve speaking to me in such a way," Cordovan said derisively. "Especially with your niece being who she is."

Maria laughed and went out of her way to chew her cashews disgustingly loud. "Do you hear that, Cordo? That's the sound of me not caring!"

Elizabeth grimaced a bit in spite of herself. "Aunt Maria, please don't -"

"Cordo, my niece has no problems with me," Maria said, winking at Elizabeth with one of her electronic eyes. "But I think you know that she has quite a few problems with you -"

"Madame Morell has difficulty with trust, that's the only reason why she -" Cordovan protested.

"Hahahahaha!" Maria exclaimed. "You're funny, but not funny enough. Lizzie doesn't have a problem with you because of that, she has a problem with you because you're such a large pain in the ass that the Atlas Council wanted to get you and your overzealous cronies as far from the kingdom as possible!"

"You're not even from Atlas!" Cordovan snapped. "You don't understand -"

"I've spent quite a bit of time in Atlas over the years," Maria replied. "I even have legal status here, if you recall. Just because I'm a dual citizen of Atlas and Vale -"

"You spend more of your life traveling than anything else and you barely spend any time in either kingdom that you're -" Cordovan started.

"I know how Atlas works," Maria repeated. "I know how the Council works full well, and it's not entirely because my sister's daughter is the chair of the Atlesian National Security Council."

"Your sister is just as bad as you," Cordovan exclaimed in exasperation. "When she was still a general, before she retired, Madison Calavera supported a failed motion by the DFAMA to remove me from my position -"

"Yes, and we all wish, including the then fourteen year old Lizzie, that the motion had carried," Maria shook her head as she hopped down from the desk and started to walk around her niece's office, every so often poking something with her cane. "Now -"

"Her husband was even worse to me," Cordovan lamented. "Colonel Arthur Morell supported that motion too, but he also supported pressing charges against me after that incident with the mech -"

"Oh, boo hoo," Maria said. "I really don't feel much sympathy for you, Cordo, no matter how much you try to convince me to -"

"Witch," Cordovan spat. "You don't understand what I'm talking about, you don't understand the kingdom of Atlas -"

"Again," Maria repeated. "I understand that they sent you all the way to Argus because they want you as far from the kingdom as possible."

Spencer awkwardly looked to Elizabeth. "How long do you think this is going to go on?"

She sighed. "With our luck, probably awhile."

Spencer pulled her out into the hall without Maria even noticing. "Lizzie, there's something you should know about me that I...that I only realised last night."

She raised an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

"My semblance…" He said, staring at his feet. "I do have one...but it's bad luck. I'm just bad luck."

"What are you talking about?" Karissa asked as she entered the hall. "Spencer, are you alright?"

He bit his lip, but forced himself to look at her. "Not much worse than always...although I found out recently that my semblance is bad luck."

She looked at him sympathetically. "Spencer, I'm so sorry -"

"Karissa, it's not your fault," He said, shaking his head. "I'll -"

"Wait," She said, forcing herself to have the nerve she hadn't been able to muster in the last two years. Pulling out a piece of paper from her pocket, she scribbled out a number and passed it to him. "Spencer, if you want to, call me anytime. Maybe we can meet up for coffee."

He smiled a bit, and nodded. "Alright, thanks. I'll see you later, then."

Elizabeth smirked a bit to herself as Karissa slipped into her office. "Interesting, Spencer."

He looked at her funny. "What are you talking about? Karissa and I have been friends for awhile, we just -"

"Spencer," Elizabeth said gently. "Maybe your luck isn't as bad as you think it is after all."

"I don't really know what you're implying," Spencer said awkwardly, rubbing his neck. "Honestly, Lizzie -"

She sighed. "Spencer, what I'm saying is that -"

"I've had it with her!" Maria exclaimed as she stepped out of Elizabeth's office. "Lizzie, dear, please make sure she gets an earful about -"

"I know," Elizabeth said, groaning. "Alright, I know."

Maria smiled. "Thank you, dear, that's very helpful. Seems like things will finally get done, or at least a little."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Yeah, of course."


	62. Chapter 62

_**March 13th  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
8:37 PM**_

"Win," Qrow said suddenly, startling her as she sipped her tea. "I think I know who the woman I saw the night of the attack was."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Rosalinde Varna, former member of Ozpin's group and current PM of Vacuo," He said. "I thought I recognised the voice a little, but it occurred to me that –"

"That makes no sense," Winter said, and he looked at her in confusion. "Not with what we found out about her recently."

Qrow looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean?"

Winter hesitated, but then sighed. "We've received, over the last few days, evidence from a few sources that Varna is working with Ashlynn, and, therefore, through the lens of the group, Salem."

"But if that's the case…" Qrow shook his head. "Then why would she save me?"

"If she did," Winter said slowly. "I'd reckon that she'd be trying to play both sides because she doesn't truly want to be involved. Much like Raven."

"I don't think Varna could ever be like Raven," Qrow said. "She's always been flawed, and a bit stubborn, but she's more like James or the people on the Council in that regard. She's a politician, not a killer."

"Plenty of politicians use their positions to cover up atrocities," Winter replied. "And Varna doesn't have the same restrictions on her that politicians have in Atlas, and even here –"

"I know," Qrow said, glancing out the window. "But she was part of the group, she wouldn't betray us because of Salem."

"You don't know that for sure, though," Winter said, sighing. "Qrow, it's been –"

She paused upon her scroll going off with a request for access.

"Who is it?" He asked her. "Win?"

"Spencer," She said slowly. "I'm not sure why, though."

"It's not a big deal," Qrow said, embracing her for a moment and then opening the door. "Spencer."

"Qrow, there's…" Spencer bit his lip even as Qrow motioned him into the apartment and closed the door. "Winter, how much do you know about silver eyes and semblances?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I have a feeling where this is going…"

"Really?" Qrow stared at her for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"Natalie Ciel has silver eyes," Winter told him, and he turned to Spencer in shock. "Although I'm not sure what semblances have to do with any of this."

Spencer sighed. "I'm just worried about what's going to happen because of my semblance…especially with the way things are right now."

Qrow glanced at his left hand for a moment. "You've stopped wearing your wedding ring."

"Anna's been dead for years," Spencer said, jamming his hands into his pockets. "And I'm not doing myself any good hoping that what happened for Ozpin and Emmeline, with them being found, happening to me. I know for a fact that Anna's gone and that she's not coming back, and my kids deserve to have their father able to better focus on –"

"Oh my god," Winter said, her eyes going wide in realisation. "You're dating someone."

Spencer turned bright pink. "I never said that."

"It makes sense," Qrow said, wrapping an arm around his wife and giving her an affectionate squeeze. "I got the way you're being with pretty much everyone when Win and I started dating."

Spencer's blush deepened, his shaggy hair hanging into his eyes only highlighting it. "Okay, I think –"

"Spencer," Winter said gently. "There's no reason for you to be embarrassed –"

"I'd say I'm not dating anyone, but I think my face might be making it clear I'm lying," Spencer said awkwardly as he sat down on one of the bar style stools near their kitchen. Leaning against the peninsula counter, he sighed. "Yes, I'm dating again. But I…it wasn't until the twenty eighth that I started to –"

"Who are you involved with?" Qrow asked him, sharing a glance with Winter. "Spencer, come on, there's no reason for you to be embarrassed, if that's the problem –"

"I've been seeing Karissa Mar," He said quickly, biting his lip after. "I –"

"Have you slept with her?" Qrow asked him, even as Winter elbowed him. "What? That was a valid question."

"No, I haven't slept with Karissa," Spencer snapped. "I'm not like that, and we've only been out a few times –"

"Isn't the third date the threshold for sex?" Qrow countered with a smirk, and Winter groaned. "Alright, that one was intended to be a bit pushy."

"A bit?" Spencer asked him, crossing his arms. "I'm not going to have sex with her."

"Well, that's not strictly true, but alright," Qrow said, and Winter couldn't help but laugh a little in spite of herself. "Look, Spencer, it's great that the two of you are together, really."

Spencer sighed. "I'm just concerned about hurting her or my kids, that's all. Natalie, Perce, and Matt are still kids, and Karissa is the head of the DFAMA –"

"Which I imagine makes it difficult for her to find people who aren't afraid of her," Qrow said, and Spencer scowled. "Sorry, that was uncalled for."

"I think I have feelings for her," Spencer said, rubbing his neck. "I'm pretty sure about that, and I know she has feelings for me but I don't want what happened to Anna to happen to her."

"Why would what happened to Arianna happen to Karissa?" Winter raised an eyebrow as she went on. "It was more of Cinder attempting to rip family apart, and, on top of that, it was just bad luck –"

"Exactly," Spencer exclaimed in exasperation. "Which, as it turns out, I am."

Qrow stared at him in surprise. "You're joking. Your semblance –"

"Is bad luck," Spencer shook his head. "I can't believe that I didn't see it…"

Qrow sighed. "I'm sorry, I know what it's like…"

"I just don't want anyone else to get hurt," Spencer said, looking at his hands. "I don't want anyone else to get hurt, and I don't want to lose another person I...that I...that I love. My kids mean more to me than anything else, and I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself if something happened to Karissa because of me."

"Nothing will," Winter told him. "It's not as bad as you think it is, and you're not -"

"I hope that's the case," He said sadly. "Because if it's not, who knows what I might cause…"

* * *

"She's so cute!" Cas squealed as she waved a feather over her baby cousin who kept trying to grab it. "I don't care she's only a few weeks old, she's so damn cute!"

Cristal laughed as she adjusted her glasses. "It's a good thing you're going to have a little sister to pester."

"I will not pester her!" Cas exclaimed indignantly, turning to Caitlin. "Do you think I'll pester her?"

Caitlin shrugged. "That depends," The green eyed girl said. "What type of scale are you going with? How are you measuring what pestering means?"

Cas groaned. "Damn logic…."

"Damn probability algorithms," Caitlin corrected with a smirk. "Not that I'm going to bother actually calculating the probability."

Emmett rolled his eyes. "I'm glad we have you around, but you and your mom are so similar and one of those ways is being pedantic and condescending for fun."

"I don't do it on purpose!" Caitlin protested, her high voice going up even higher. "Honestly, I don't!"

Emmett glanced at his scroll as it started buzzing. "Emmy's going to be home soon, thank god. And, yes, Caitlin, we know you don't do it on purpose."

"I'm still a bit surprised that Elizabeth told you about everything," Ozpin noted, and Caitlin sighed. "I know that she -"

"She thought I had a right to know," Caitlin said, biting her lip. "And I already knew enough to get her to tell me the rest."

"That makes sense," Cristal said as she brought her baby girl into her arms. "I just hope that when I have to tell you that you won't be in danger, Courtney."

She looked at her mother in confusion, her brown eyes wide.

"It's going to be alright," Ozpin promised her, setting a hand to her shoulder and kissing her cheek. "I'm sure our family is going to be fine."

"I hope so…" She said softly while her daughter began to tug at her thick white curls. "I don't want to lose this again…"

Emmett bit his lip. "None of us do."

"What are you all -" Brianna Ciel paused as she entered the room. "Emmeline's not here, is she?"

"I'm not going to question why you have the access code," Emmett said tiredly, running a hand through his shoulder length white waves. "And did something happen? You work for the Council, Brianna, and wouldn't you know that the security council had a meeting today and -"

"Emmett, can we talk alone?" She said, and he raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Please?"

Emmett stood up and motioned her to follow him into the drawing room. "Alright," He said as he shut the door behind them. "What's going on with you?"

Brianna started pacing anxiously, her hands clasped behind her back, and her hair flying back and forth as she did so. "Emmett, I know Emmeline's told you about everything you've missed, and I know you have hard feelings towards my husband but I really need you to -"

"Calm down, first," Emmett said gently, motioning for her to sit down. "You're going to make yourself sick if you don't."

Brianna was silent for a long moment before shakily sitting down. "I assume you know about what happened with the PENNY Project?"

"You had your name cleared, didn't you?" Emmett asked her, and she nodded weakly. "What's the problem?"

"I…" Brianna buried her face in her hands. "My name never should have been cleared, it's all my fault what happened to her. Everyone else that was cleared simply worked on the project, but I was one of the people that pushed for her to be at the Vytal Festival, one of the people that went too far in trying to alleviate the Council's ethical concerns -"

"Brianna, nothing you did -" Emmett started.

"I was only cleared because of Ronnie's sway in certain circles…" Brianna said weakly. "I was protected because my husband called in a few favours in the DCCCI and DCCCP."

Emmett sighed. "I would have done the same thing in his situation."

Brianna looked at him in surprise. "You're joking."

"What you did wasn't that bad," Emmett reminded her. "Yes, you messed up when it comes to letting her go to the Vytal Festival, but you didn't think there was anything wrong in what you were doing because, at its core, there wasn't. The person at fault is my sister, Ashlynn, and not you. Don't blame yourself."

She hesitated, but spoke regardless. "I'm just worried, maybe it's finally getting to me."

"Look, I'm not saying Ronnie and I get along all that great and I'm not going to deny that I think he's kind of an ass but he loves you more than anything," Emmett said, and she nodded weakly. "If your worried, then he's going to be too - and it's going to be about you."

She bit her lip. "I just don't...I don't know how he's going to feel about something and I don't want him to be angry with me."

Emmett raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

She was silent, staring at her hands for what felt like several minutes.

"I…" She finally said. "I already told Elizabeth, and you're probably going to tell me the same thing she did, but I'm pregnant with Ronnie's child."

Emmett took that in for a moment as he pushed up his glasses. "He's going to be thrilled, Brianna, no matter how stressful things are. Emmy said he's wanted kids ever since the two of you got married -"

"I just -" Brianna started, pausing upon the door opening. "Chrissy, I -"

"Sorry, Brie," She said, then turning to Emmett. "Emmett, how exactly would you tell our semblance from magic?"

Emmett stared at her in surprise. "You're joking."

"What?" Brianna said, looking at both of them in surprise. "Magic?"

"You'll figure it out," Emmett told her as they all stepped into the living room once more where Courtney Schnee, giggling in her father's arms, was popping various coloured bubbles that were seemingly rising from thin air. "Okay, Chrissy, you weren't joking. I see it too, that's -"

"Oh my god," Brianna said as she watched the tiny girl. "This...it's real?"

"More than any of us want to admit to exists," Caitlin said, blowing on her bangs. "Believe me, some of it's...well…"

Cas elbowed her meaningfully, and, thankfully, she took the hint.

"Well," Cristal said as she sat down next to her husband and brought her daughter back into her arms. "I'm going to protect you, Courtney, your father and I both will. You've got gifts most people don't...and that's both a blessing and a curse."

"Like our psychitity," Emmett said a bit dryly. "And look where that's gotten the Schnee family."

Ozpin sighed as he wrapped an arm protectively around his wife. "I know, but things...well, the best thing we can do is not let ourselves lose hope...after all, we -"

"Have…" Caitlin hesitated as she spoke softly. "Have the most to gain, and therefore even more to lose…"

* * *

"…Good, you're still here," Ronnie Ciel said as he stepped into Elizabeth's office, eliciting a raised eyebrow from the woman. "…There's something we need to discuss."

"…And that is?" She questioned, saving her report and then closing her laptop. "…Well?"

"…We have Watts in our custody," He said. "…He was captured a few days ago after a slip up, and he was brought in a few hours ago."

"…Where was he found?" She stood up, stepping in front of her desk and leaning against it. "…Within the kingdom or outside of it?"

"…In northern Vale," Ronnie informed her. "…In a transport station. He was trying to get back into the kingdom, and I suppose, in a way, he got what he wanted."

Elizabeth laughed. "…I suppose that's more than fair."

Ronnie sighed, glancing at his scroll.

"...Something wrong?" Elizabeth looked at him in concern. "...Alright, screw formalities, we've known each other for several years, personally. What the hell is wrong, Ronnie?"

He hesitated but then sighed. "...Something's bothering Brie, and I'm worried that she's in danger or angry with me, or...what if she wants to divorce? Liz, if she -"

"...Ronnie, you have a serious stick up your ass and you and I don't always agree but I know that, at your core, you're a good person," Elizabeth shook her head as she crossed her arms. "...Brie and I are reasonably close, and the last thing she wants is a divorce. She's just worried, that's all."

"...About what?" Ronnie asked her, his concern rising in his voice. "...Liz -"

"...She's just worried that you're going to be angry with her when you find out that you're going to be a father," Elizabeth said, sending him a pointed look. "...Because of the timing, because of everything that's happened, because she's afraid of upsetting Emmeline, because she's scared by what this world is becoming."

"...Oh my god…" Ronnie said, probing his forehead. "...No, how could Brie -"

"...She said that you told her that the timing isn't great and that you want to wait until things have calmed down," Elizabeth said, and he sighed. "...Ronnie, I know you're scared -"

"...How can I not be?" He said quietly. "...I'm probably going to be a terrible…"

Ronnie trailed off and then pulled out his scroll.

"...You're going to call her?" Elizabeth surmised, and he nodded. "...She knows you love her, you know, and she's wants you so much -"

"...I know," He said, biting his lip as he waited for her to pick up although his nerves didn't leave him even when the line clicked. "...Brie? You okay, you've seemed a bit -"

"...Ronnie, I'm fine," She said tiredly. "...I promise."

"...Then what is it?" He asked her gently while Elizabeth started to file away some of her stray papers. "...Brie, honey, I -"

"...I'm pregnant…" She said, her voice breaking. "...I know -"

"...Brianna Kira Ciel, honey, my sweet wife, if you think for a second that I'm unhappy -" Ronnie started.

"...Of course you are!" She exclaimed. "...Ronnie -"

"...No, Brie," Ronnie said gently. "...I'm just as scared as you are, but I'm happy. We should have started a family a few years ago, but we didn't, and -"

"...You're really happy about this?" She asked him. "...Ronnie?"

"...If you want, I'll show you just how happy I am tonight," He promised, and Elizabeth groaned as she continued her filing. "...Brie, I will ravish you if you -"

"...Ronnie," She said, giggling. "...Not now."

A silence passed between them for a long moment, only broken up by the sound of Elizabeth's filing.

"...Brie," Ronnie said hesitantly. "...You heard about the capture of Watts, right?"

"...Yes, I did," She said. "...Why?"

He sighed. "...Do you think this might be part of something more?"

"...Maybe…" She admitted after a moment of hesitation. "...But I hope not. I hope that this was just him threatening the Adels, not the world…"

"Such blissful ignorance," Salem remarked, tapping her nails against the table. "As for Watts, he's going to get himself into more trouble than not because of this, and not just with the Atlas Council."

"I told him that he –" Cinder started irritably.

"Now, Cinder," Salem said calmly. "Watts' consequences will reach him later. For now, we need to press on and formulate our next steps."

Cinder glanced into the seer grimm a bit curiously. "Is there anyone that we need to...deal with?"

"I was considering swaying Spencer Ciel to our side," Salem said slowly. "But I don't think we can now."

Salem waved her hand, and the seer grimm immediately showed the man inside an apartment, curled up with a woman who had azure curls.

"...I don't want to push you," The woman said as she took his hand in hers. "...I want things to work out, not to go quickly."

Spencer sighed. "...I don't want that to happen either."

"...I also don't want to hurt your kids," She hesitated as she went on. "...I know that they're young, but they all remember their mother and I don't want to hurt them because you and -"

Spencer cut her off suddenly with a soft kiss to her lips, surprising both of them as they gained some brief intensity for a moment.

"...I…" Spencer said a bit awkwardly. "...You're not going to, 'Rissa, you're not."

She stared at him for a moment but then nodded. "...I trust you."

"...We've known each other for years," He reminded her. "...And you've helped me through a lot, especially after…"

Karissa glanced at the scars and even some of the more recent spots from which the needles had gone into the crooks of his elbows. "...I know, and, thank god, things have gotten a little bit better. I don't want...I don't want anything to happen to you -"

"...It's my own fault…" Spencer said quietly. "...And even if it's not...it's my semblance."

Karissa looked at him in concern. "...Your semblance?"

"...I…'Rissa, wherever I go, I…" Spencer sighed heavily. "...My semblance is bad luck, and it...I guess it's always with me and has an effect on me wherever I go -"

"...Your semblance isn't you," Karissa said with finality, and he bit his lip. "...Spencer, I've known you for years so believe me when I tell you that I _know_ that you're a good person, a loving and emotional person, and that your semblance, regardless of what it is, is not going to change that. It doesn't change who you are."

He was silent for a long moment.

"...Do you believe me?" She asked him gently, squeezing his hand. "...Spencer, it's okay if you don't -"

"...I should," He said. "...But I'm scared that if I do that I'm denying the fact that I'm responsible for my addiction, that I'm responsible because of it for making money tighter during three months of the year for my family, that I'm...that I'm responsible for having to beg my sister and Emmett to pay me out of my taxes from last year because I -"

"...Spencer, you're not denying anything," Karissa said. "...You're admitting to yourself that you are not the core of everything that's wrong around you, that you are not the core of the horrible things that you have to deal with because you're not."

He considered that but then pulled her into a tight embrace. "...If I ever hurt you -"

"...You won't," She promised. "...I know you won't."

He hesitated, but nodded. "...Then I'll try to...to be better. For you."

Karissa smiled as she curled into him once more. "...That's all I'm asking."

Cinder scoffed. "Karissa Mar? How in the hell did he get a woman like her -"

"That doesn't concern me," Salem said sharply. "What concerns me is the fact that now I have no other options for a mole within their circles apart from Rosalinde Varna, who, based on the things people like Elizabeth Morell and Blake Adel have to say about her, is not going to be warmly embraced or trusted."

Cinder scowled at the seer as it showed Varna sitting in first class on a transport that was clearly headed for Atlas.

"I have already sent her to Atlas, the last communication Watts was able to send through a burner scroll was to have her come to Atlas. No one is going to know the connexion between them, and, therefore, no one is going to know her connexion to us," Salem sighed as she went on. "But we are in a...precarious position and I am not sure about the loyalties of the, currently, only woman that can truly get us what we want. Neo would never do it, she likes the protection of the Atlas Council too much."

"Of course she does," Cinder rolled her eyes. "Although, of course, she is a Ciel."

"They're a powerful family, CInder, do not forget that," Salem said with a bit of sharpness to her voice. "We will be damned if we underestimate them."

She hung her head and nodded once. "I suppose the connexion to my brother and sisters don't help."

"No, they do not," Salem said. "And I understand why you can't quite let go of your family, but, in many ways, that makes your anger more powerful."

Cinder considered that for a moment but then spoke to the seer. "Show us Victoria Schnee."

Salem raised an eyebrow as the woman appeared in the seer. "Your mother?"

"Yes," The amber eyed woman said, her eyes narrowing much like the equally vibrant amber eyes of her mother who was sitting at a vanity while several women did her hair and she applied her makeup. "She can be manipulated, I know she can. She's lost so much, she'd love a chance for her life to be better - to be back to what it once was. She's still got glamour and money, but she's lacking quite a bit else in her life, and she knows it. Hence why she hides behind those things...and her vanity."

Salem considered that but then nodded. "I want you...to find a way to get your mother on our side, then. I don't care what you have to do. Do it, because you should know better than anyone that if you put your desires before my own that they will be lost to you - forever."


	63. Chapter 63

_**March 17th  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
3:45 PM**_

"Things are different now," Allison said, although her voice was shaking as she was let into the cell where her father was being held. "You don't -"

"Oh, Allison, you don't have to pretend that you're confident when you're not," Watts said, leaning back against the bed within the cell that he was sitting on. "Although I am surprised that your husband didn't cause a tirade – demanding that he be by your side for all of this."

She narrowed her eyes. "I told him that I wanted to handle you myself."

"I can't blame you," Watts said, then sending a cursory glance to the aura cuff on his left wrist that he could not remove. "Although I am annoyed that my own technology is being used against me. Seems like things are poisoned against me."

Allison scoffed. "You poisoned yourself from the start."

"You know," Watts said as she scowled at him. "You really have more strength than I give you credit for. You have no qualms about saying what's on your mind, you have no qualms about telling me that you think I'm wrong. I admire that, Allison, I really do."

"What I want to know is why you've gone out of your way to harm me my entire life," She said, refusing to be sidetracked by the man. "Why you've –"

"Because someone's needed to show you the consequences of fighting back in a war that just cannot be won," He said, and she raised an eyebrow. "I never wanted to hurt you, I certainly don't enjoy it –"

"That's a lie, and you know it," Allison snapped. "If you never wanted to hurt me, you would have just left me alone, if you didn't enjoy it then you wouldn't go out of your way to harm my family even to the point of attempting to kill my husband!"

Watts sighed. "Yes, I suppose that might be a bit of a transgression on my part…"

"Blake's never regained full usage of his left shoulder or, for that matter, his left arm because of it," She crossed her arms irritably. "What are you after?"

"To be honest, at this point, my life," Watts said. "At first it was about furthering myself, but it's become much more about preservation than anything else. Salem is more dangerous than you can comprehend, and I'm not even sure that I can fully understand how dangerous she is."

Allison considered that. "Still," She said. "You choose –"

"I choose to live, and if I have to put my life ahead of yours then so be it," Watts told her. "If you're going to –"

"You don't –" She started although she was cut off upon the door opening once more.

"Madame Adel," The guard said. "Madame Davis of the DCCCP is here to begin –"

"I understand," She said, sending her father one last glare as she stepped out of the cell. Pausing upon seeing Kiara, she sighed. "I imagine that it's going to take you awhile."

"I won't be the only one speaking with him," Kiara told her. "But, yes, either way he's going to be resistant."

Allison nodded. "Not to anyone's surprise."

"Allie?" Blake said as he stepped down into the maximum security ward in which they all were. "Sorry if I'm –"

"It's fine," She said as Kiara stepped into the cell and she walked over to him. "It was just a stressful talk, that's all."

Blake sighed as he wrapped an arm around her waist and the two of them stepped into the elevator. "I know, but you're alright, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am," She said, and he gave her a gentle squeeze. "Worried, but alright."

"He's locked up, and there's no way that he'll be able to escape, at least not this time," Blake promised her. "Believe me, after everything he's done and been involved with, I don't want him out and in the open either."

"I know," She said. "With everything going on, I –"

"Don't want things to get any worse?" He suggested, and she nodded. "I don't want that either."

"I love you so much," She whispered as they paused in one of the main hallways on the ninth floor of the building in which the DFAMA, DLNLE, DOJ, DCCCI, DCCCP, DSAEO, and the state department conducted most of their department meetings. "I –"

Blake pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "I love you too."

"And I know you two have been through a lot," Elizabeth said as she used her ID to buzz into her office less than a foot away. "But that's no reason for you to –"

"You seem especially crabby today," Blake noted, and she scowled. "Sorry."

"I've had a few meetings that were…to say the least…contentious, and I've been here since nine in the morning," She told him. "Forgive me if I'm not in the mood to be extremely accommodating, especially since we got intelligence about an hour ago that Cinder is back in the kingdom."

"Oh my god," Allison stared at her. "How did she –"

"I have a few guesses, all of which I presented to the DLNLE," Elizabeth said shortly. "But I'm stressed by how much is going on, and, frankly, the idea of Cinder being back in the kingdom scares me."

"It scares all of us," Blake said, sending her a sympathetic look. "Cinder is –"

"Lizzie," Spencer Ciel said, sounding almost out of breath as he ran into the hall from the stairwell. "I think there's something we need to talk about."

She stared at him in surprise. "Spencer, are you alright?"

He shook his head and passed her a note. "No, I'm not."

Elizabeth's eyes went wide as she read the perfect calligraphy.

 _No one is going to be safe from Her, much less this family. I fell into this by mistake, but She'd be going after us either way. Salem is never going to leave us alone, and if we're not careful we'll fall right into her trap. No matter what you do, I don't care what it costs, never forget who you are._

Elizabeth took in a deep breath. "Nicole?"

Spencer nodded. "She seems to think there's a larger plot."

"Even more so than we know?" Blake said, sharing a look with Allison. "Did she say anything else?"

"Not that I imagine we don't already know," Spencer sighed. "What are we even doing?"

"I don't know," Elizabeth admitted, rubbing her neck. "But, at this point, we've chosen our sides. There's not any turning back, not now."

* * *

"Hello, mommy," Cinder said, startling her mother as she leaned against the doorway. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Victoria stared at her for a long moment from through the mirror but then sighed. "Ashlynn."

"I thought I should visit," She said, sauntering into the room and using her powers as the Fall Maiden to slam the door shut behind her. "You know and be a good daughter."

"You've never been that," Victoria replied, adjusting her coiffure. "But, of course, you were always better off in most ways in comparison to Emmett and Cristal. At the very least, you've never been afraid to have you way no matter the cost. I admire that, in spite of what it has led to."

"The Fall Of Beacon was necessary to make a point to the world," Cinder said, and Victoria scoffed. "And, beyond that, I didn't have a choice in the matter."

"There's always a choice," Victoria countered. "And you tend to make all the wrong ones. You know full well that the Atlesian Council will have your head when they realise you're back in the kingdom."

"You're not going to tell them that I am, are you?" She shook her head as she went on. "You could have more than this, you know."

Victoria raised an eyebrow. "Alright, Ashlynn, what do you want?"

She sighed. "Well, we need someone on our side that Ozpin and the rest of the group will trust."

Victoria laughed dryly. "And you think I would be a good choice for that? They can barely stand me, they'd never trust my loyalties to lie where I say they are."

"They'll trust Rosalinde Varna even less," Cinder replied. "And, without you, she's our only option."

Victoria considered that. "Why are you asking me?"

"Because I know that you will drop your air of righteousness as soon as it no longer suits you," Cinder said, causing her mother to tense as she reached for her makeup. "You can have so much more, and you won't be damned if you just listen to me and –"

"I don't want to be what you've become," Victoria said, as she began to apply her powder foundation. "More to the point, I'm in a rather favourable position here in Atlas and do not have any desire to squander it over a war none of us can win."

Cinder sighed. "That Ozpin can't win."

"Salem can't either," Victoria countered, and Cinder flinched. "If she really could, she would have been able to by now. She's toying with people and has been toying with people because, at the end of the day, she has just as much if not more to lose than Ozpin. She could have ended the world ages ago with the Relics, and it's not as if she doesn't know where they are."

"Maybe she's trying to draw out his punishment for killing her daughters," Cinder said tersely. "Maybe she's trying to prove that she was right all along."

"Or, more likely, she doesn't know how to truly win," Victoria said, setting her foundation aside and reaching for her lipstick. "You see, when someone with her powers waits so long, she probably knows that she'll never quite win. She can get close, she can break down humanity, she can bring all of us to our knees, she can make humanity crumble beneath her, but she can never actually defeat Ozpin and he can never defeat her. They can't kill each other, and they'll always be stuck in a perpetual struggle even after humanity has vanished because of her."

Cinder scowled. "That's where you're wrong."

"No, that's where you're wrong," Victoria said, flawlessly applying her lipstick and then standing up to her full height which, in her heels, was the same of that of her daughter. "You're too far in to get out, but you're not able to convince yourself that what you're doing is worth it. What do you even get out of this?"

"What I've always wanted," Cinder said, forcing herself not to lose her temper. "What you and daddy never let me have – power."

"Ah," Victoria said, then rolling her eyes. "Of course, my youngest daughter, the girl who wanted power. It makes sense, that is not in question, but you know that Cristal was always better suited for her position than you. Emmett too."

"You've never understood," Cinder bit off. "You always –"

"I always understood that giving you power would be a dangerous precedent," Victoria said, and she stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "Because, at the end of the day, you've always wanted to control other people and have your way no matter what. In that way, you're quite a bit like Jacques."

Cinder scoffed. "I'm nothing like Jacques."

"Your denial suggests otherwise," Victoria shot back haughtily. "Say what you will, Ashlynn, but you're never going to be able to escape yourself or your past or the things you've wanted but were never able to have. You think you deserve more than you do, and that is my fault. I shouldn't have let that precedent get into your head."

Cinder crossed her arms. "You're wrong about me."

"If I was, you wouldn't be saying that," Victoria sighed. "Your entire life has been about picking fights, about having your way, and look where it has gotten you. You're one of the most wanted people in the kingdom of Atlas, in the world, you're one of the most dangerous people in the world –"

"Sometimes you have to –" Cinder argued.

Victoria ignored her and cut her off to go on. "You've committed horrible atrocities and spent no more but a few months in prison for it. You murdered an innocent eighteen year old on top of Beacon Tower two years ago in October, you orchestrated that entire event with the help of Watts and a few others –"

"To send the message that –" Cinder snapped.

"Not to mention the terrible things you did to Elizabeth Morell," Victoria went on. "And you have threatened your own family, and to what end? Power? Is that all that you care about anymore? What happened to the woman you were?"

Cinder glared. "She's dead, the Ashlynn Schnee you knew is gone and she was weak! She was weak, and –"

"She was willing to admit to her own humanity," Victoria said, then shaking her head. "And you've turned yourself into a perfect example for the corruption and egomania power brings. You even chose your name yourself when you found you'd become the Fall Maiden. _Cinder Fall_."

She started shaking in spite of herself and scowled harder at her mother. "You're going to break eventually, I know you will. One of these days you'll fall into disgrace, and you'll fall right into our fold."

Victoria rolled her eyes but then sighed. "And if that's true, then I imagine that is exactly what happened to you, _exactly_ what has damned you."

* * *

"Brie," Ronnie said as he leaned against her desk and she closed her laptop. "I promise, I'm not angry about this, I'm happy but I'm stressed."

"With everything going on, I can't blame you," She said, sighing. "Ronnie, are you sure you're not angry?"

"Yes, I am," He said, taking her hand in his and squeezing it. "I just wish you hadn't been afraid to tell me. We're having a family, something I've wanted for us for so long."

She smiled. "I take it you're going to smother me?"

"Why would I do anything else?" He replied. "I'm not going to be like Blake Adel, but when it's just the two of us…"

She laughed. "Oh, god, Ronnie, if you acted like Blake Adel with his wife –"

"The two of them can barely keep their hands off each other when they're together," Ronnie finished. "I know, and, believe me, I won't do that to you."

"I don't know how they do it, honestly," She said, then shaking her head. "I like them, but they're a bit too much sometimes."

He nodded. "I agree with that. Even with work he's most concerned about her – particularly in matters relating to her father."

"Still…" Brianna said slowly. "They certainly fight less than we do."

Ronnie stared at her for a moment but then shook his head. "I need to be more patient, Brie, you know that –"

"And how long is it going to take for you to finally figure out how to be more patient?" She replied. "I don't want us to hate each other, Ronnie, I don't want us to be blowing up at each other – especially now with the baby."

"I know," He snapped. "And I'm trying –"

"Not enough," She said as she stood up, crossing her arms. "Case in point, Ronnie."

"What do you –" He started, although he was cut short upon Karissa Mar and Winter Schnee stepping into the room alongside Qrow Branwen.

"I hope this isn't a bad time, but this is important," Karissa said, and Ronnie nodded. "Madame Ciel, you might actually be of help to this matter."

She raised an eyebrow. "How exactly?"

"The Council has access to highly classified materials relating into the investigation of Prime Minister Varna of Vacuo, right?" Qrow said, and she looked at him in surprise. "Materials that can –"

"Mister Branwen, I'm the assistant head of the DSAEO, not of the DOJ or DCCCP, which are who you should be asking if you want access to those materials," She said, stepping forward a bit. "Unless of course you have a question relating to science or ethics."

"Varna's involvement with Cinder Fall has been confirmed, right?" He asked, and she nodded once. "Is it appropriate, then, for her to be given clearance to be in the kingdom for the sake of dealing with Cinder?"

Brianna considered that for a moment.

"Well," She said slowly. "The circumstances would suggest that she shouldn't be since the general consensus is that she has colluded with Cinder in a matter relating to the Fall Of Beacon, however subtly. Why do you ask, though? You are not working for the Council, nor are you associated with any of these events."

"Varna was the one who saved me after Watts attacked me back at the end of February," Qrow informed her, and the entire room, apart from Winter, was stunned. "And, with everything that's come up about her, I want to know why."

"Nothing good, probably," Brianna remarked. "Likely, she's attempting to mislead you and by extension the rest of us. I assume you've spoken to Elizabeth about it?"

He nodded. "She said essentially the same thing."

"Elizabeth's the chair of the security council and a prominent figure in the DFAMA," Ronnie reminded him. "I wouldn't take anything she says lightly."

"Do you see my point?" Karissa said, giving Qrow a sharp look. "If you carry on like this, assuming that people who Ozpin has trusted – regardless of whether or not he does now – then you're going to get yourself killed."

"Madame Mar, I wouldn't go as far as to –" Winter started.

"Schnee, even you have found this situation suspicious from the start," Karissa said, and she sighed. "Do not act as if you haven't."

"I am not acting like I haven't," Winter replied. "Because I am suspicious of Varna and her intentions. What I wouldn't go so far as to say is that Qrow is going to get himself killed."

"Is there really anyway around recognising the possibility?" Ronnie countered, and she hesitated. "In every sense, we all would be in the same position if we –"

"I'm not being irrational," Qrow snapped. "She didn't have to –"

"And isn't it awfully convenient that she was there in the first place?" Brianna said, causing him to fall silent. "You're rational, you're an excellent huntsman, Qrow. So, tell me, how can any of us be sure that this isn't the first move in another game that we have yet to realise we're playing?"

He sighed. "What should we do, then?"

Brianna shared a look with Karissa and Ronnie for a moment.

"We need to be cautious," Karissa finally said. "And in that, we can't let our guard down, not if we have any hope – something that we all could use a little more of."

Ronnie sighed heavily as she left the room. "I think she's right."

"Of course she is," Qrow said, sounding a bit tired. "Karissa wouldn't have said that if she didn't genuinely believe it."

"The question is what our next step is going to be," Ronnie said, looking a bit worriedly towards his wife. "For all of us."

Brianna nodded. "Not that any of us know who's really on our side."


	64. Chapter 64

_**March 28th  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
8:45 PM**_

"Varna cannot be trusted, Oz," Elizabeth said, her arms crossed. "If you don't believe me, ask my daughter - considering that she was the one that figured it out."

Caitlin bit her lip and awkwardly started to flatten out her already flattened blunt bangs.

"What do you mean?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow although he did send a cursory glance towards Caitlin. "Elizabeth, how would she -"

"The Relic Of Knowledge," She mumbled, then looking up with her green eyes wide. "I -"

"How in god's name did you get to the Relic Of Knowledge?" Emmeline stared at her in shock. "As you clearly well know, it's protected by -"

"Don't blame her for everything," Cas said as she pushed up her glasses and then stared at her hands. "I was the one who got us down there."

Emmett sighed. "You hijacked your mother's scroll and downloaded the access codes, didn't you?"

"Sorry," Cas squeaked out, and Emmeline groaned. "Mommy, I -"

"Casseia Emmeline Ciel-Schnee, I love you to death but you're going to get yourself into serious trouble one of these days because you keep pulling things like this!" Emmeline exclaimed in exasperation. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"The answer is that she wasn't," Cristal said with a faint smirk as she held her baby girl close. "I think that's been made clear enough."

"Both of you have broken over half a dozen laws doing that," Ronnie sent both Caitlin and Cas a sharp look. "You could spend years in prison because of it!"

"They are not even going to hear this in court," Elizabeth said, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "What they did was illegal, but I'd contend that it wasn't amoral."

"Of course it wasn't amoral," Blake said. "But Ronnie's right that it's not legal. Is it really in our place to pretend that they never broke the law, never stole information, never broke into a highly classified facility that only a few people in the government, including ourselves, are aware of?"

Ronnie nodded. "Elizabeth, listen, I know -"

"Ronnie, if you're going to take this moment to uptight about the law, then I think you need to be reminded that you've broken laws of an even higher order than the two of them did in combination," She said unapologetically as she placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Your wife can, I'm sure, tell you all about the shady ethics of you calling in favours in various departments to not only keep her out of prison but out of court over her involvement and connexions to what happened to that android, Penny Polendina."

Ronnie scowled. "And I think you need a reminder that you gave Cinder Fall government information -"

"Declassified," Elizabeth reminded him, her nails digging into Caitlin's shoulder and causing the young woman to flinch slightly. "And under duress -"

"You still -" Ronnie argued, his hand tightly entwined in Brianna's.

"Unlike Brie, I confessed everything to the DOJ and Kiara - without prompting, mind you," Elizabeth glared at him as she went on. "And, on top of that, I spent several weeks in court over it and was cleared only because of the things that Cinder did to me which placed me under a state of duress which, under our kingdom's law -"

"Is a circumstance in which a person becomes unwitting -" Brianna said, glancing towards her husband.

"And the duress I was under was considered and charged against her as multiple acts of torture, but also of repeated assault, emotional, mental, and physical abuse," Elizabeth said, her voice shaking. "Not to mention several counts of rape."

Ronnie fell silent and then sighed upon seeing her tension and the tears that were fighting at the corners of Elizabeth's eyes. "Sorry, that was crossing a line. And, fine, we'll pretend that this never happened."

Elizabeth nodded once and then wiped the tears away from her eyes. "Alright." She said, sniffing a bit in spite of herself.

"Your story doesn't quite make sense, though," Allison said slowly. "How exactly did you two get information out of the Relic Of Knowledge if all three questions for this era have been used?"

"They've been used now," Caitlin remarked dryly, her already high voice rising a bit as she went on. "It turns out that they hadn't been, so we asked three questions and got answers…"

Ronnie raised an eyebrow. "I'm still confused by all this," He said, mainly to Ozpin. "You said that the maidens, that a woman named Salem who is out to end the world is real, that magic -"

"You saw that magic is real," Cristal reminded him, gesturing to her sleeping daughter in her arms. "Ronnie, if seeing it for yourself isn't enough to prove that it's -"

"I get it…" He said tiredly, burying his face in his hands and all but slamming his glasses into his face. "It's just a lot to take in."

Brianna gently rubbed his back. "Ronnie, it's fine."

"What did the two of you find out from the Relic?" Allison asked them, and Caitlin and Cas shared a long look. "Well?"

Cas hesitated. "Um...I'm not sure we should say one of them."

Emmeline raised an eyebrow. "And why's that?"

"Because we know who is good, grey, and evil," Cas said, and the room fell silent. "Jinn, the spirit in the Relic, wouldn't tell us anything about our generation because we still have, in her words, yet to pick a side, but the reason we know about Varna is because she defined her as evil."

Ozpin shared a look with Cristal for a moment.

"You're joking," She finally said. "Cassie, please tell me you're joking."

"Cristal, if I was joking I would have started laughing," She said, and Cristal sighed. "Jinn said, well, Caitlin -"

"Her exact words were that we shouldn't underestimate Varna, that we must tread carefully with her, and that none of us have any idea how far deep we're in," Caitlin said quickly, then glancing around the room. "And, when she answered our last question, she said that we all have the most to gain from this and, subsequently, the most to lose."

Elizabeth bit her lip. "I hate admitting it, but I think that's true."

"We'd be lying to ourselves if we didn't recognise that it is," Emmett remarked, sipping his unholy cup of coffee in spite of the glare Emmeline was sending him. "Emmy, come on, it's just coffee."

"Chrissy's right that you're trying to damn yourself by drinking that much coffee," She told him, and he shrugged and gave her a loving squeeze. "Emmett -"

"I'm telling you, when Ariel and Briella are born in May, you're going to be damn relieved that I can stay up and take care of her so you can sleep," Emmett said, tossing back his shoulder length white waves. "I love you, Emmy, but there's no reason to get mad at me over coffee."

"I beg to differ, but on a different count," Brianna said, gesturing to Cristal who was reaching for her wine glass. "Chrissy's drinking pisses me off, Elizabeth and Allison's too."

Allison rolled her eyes as she set down her champagne. "How come? You're the one who said no to port wine, to champagne, to beer -"

"Well, I'm sorry that I can't drink," Brianna said, crossing her arms. "Emmeline can't either -"

"Fair, but I don't care enough at this point to be annoyed in the slightest by it," Emmeline said, then giving her a slightly confused look. "But why exactly can't you -"

"Brie's pregnant too," Elizabeth said quickly, and strikingly similar to her daughter, then raising her glass a little with a smirk. "But, come on, it's not like you're carrying the Christ child so I don't feel any shame -"

"Shut up," Brianna muttered. "And thanks a lot."

"It's a good thing, though," Ronnie said, smiling as he looked to her. "You and I are finally having a family -"

"And we agreed we'd stay off you being like this when it wasn't the two of us," Brianna tiredly reminded him. "You know how I feel about being openly affectionate, Ronnie."

"Sorry," He said.

"I don't know why you feel that way," Cristal remarked, smiling as she brushed her fingers over her daughter's forehead. "Your sister in law and her husband should be enough to prove that the two of you have nothing to be personally ashamed of."

Emmeline turned slightly pink. "Chrissy -"

"Blake and Allison are worse," She added, causing both of them to blush. "Oh, so you admit it."

"I don't really think we're at a point in our lives where we can deny it anymore," Blake said, kissing his wife's cheek. "It's okay, Allie, everyone should know how much I love you."

She smiled, although she flinched a bit when he did upon her placing a bit too much weight on his left. "Blake, I -"

"I don't care if it hurts, it's worth it for you to be safe," He said. "I don't care, I promise."

A heavy silence passed before Elizabeth looked to her daughter once more.

"Caity," She said gently. "What was the last thing you gleaned from the Relic?"

She hesitated, biting at her lip but then she shook her head. "That...that Ozpin used to be involved with Salem and that he can't defeat her."

"I don't believe that," Brianna said, and Caitlin scowled. "I know that you -"

"I'm sick and tired of people refusing to take me seriously," She snapped, standing up and storming out of the room with Cas following her. "And I was right all along that there's never going to be an end to this, that she can't be defeated."

Ozpin waited to speak until they had heard the door slam to the third floor behind the two young women. "She's really only seventeen? Every time we hear her speak, I could swear she was older."

"She grew up too fast, but it's not her fault," Elizabeth said shortly. "So, is what she said true? About this really being a wild goose chase?"

"It can't be -" Emmett started.

"It's not," Ozpin said with finality. "I doubt I can deal the final blow to her myself, but I can seal her. We can defeat her, and we can win this war."

Cristal sighed as she adjusted her glasses and shared an anxious look with him. "The question is, though, if we can pull ourselves together and stop being at odds all the time."

Emmeline sighed. "Yes, because, if the Council is any indication, that's likely to happen any time soon."

* * *

"Hey, Win?" Qrow said as the two of them laid together in their bed and he played with her damp hair. "I was thinking, maybe we should start thinking more about baby things. You know, since -"

"Qrow," She said with a smile. "I'm not due until the seventeenth of September, I think we have more than enough time."

"You think that our apartment's going to be enough space?" He asked her, and she nodded. "Alright. What about other things, like strollers -"

"I swear to god, Qrow, it's going to be alright and we have more than enough time," She said in slight exasperation. "If you keep talking like this, our baby's going to be the most spoiled child in history, which is saying something when you consider how wealthy my aunt and uncle are."

Qrow smirked. "I still can't get past the way Emmett broke a coffee mug when we told him."

"It was an accident, he just lost his grip," Winter said, rolling her eyes. "It's not like he did it on purpose."

"Well," Qrow said. "I still think it's hilarious that Emmett, who is going to have two little girls running around on top of his teenage daughter, was shocked by us having a kid."

"I don't think it was shock," WInter said, then groaning off of his pointed look. "Ugh, Qrow, I -"

"If you don't want to admit that I'm right, you don't have to," He said, pulling her closer and resting a hand over her small curve. "Honestly, though, I can still barely believe that we're having a child."

Winter sighed. "I feel that way too. It's a little nerve wracking, to be honest."

"I know," Qrow said, kissing her cheek. "But at least things are getting a little easier for you. Hasn't the morning sickness mostly gone away?"

"I'm almost to my fourth month, so, yes," WInter said. "Thankfully it was never too terrible to begin with."

"You are pregnant, not an invalid," Qrow said, and she started laughing. "What? It's true. If you were an invalid and not pregnant, you'd probably just spend your days projectile vomiting -"

"Oh, don't make me sick!" She exclaimed. "I don't want to think about that in the slightest!"

"Sorry, I had to say it," He said, ruffling her hair. "So, anything crazy happen for you at work?"

Winter sighed. "Well, not so much directly because of my absence from combat but I heard an...interesting story from Madame Morell about why Cordovan is, in a few months, probably going to be facing some form of disciplinary action."

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "How come?"

"Because, as I've said before despite her being, technically, my superior," WInter rolled her eyes as she went on. "Cordovan is fucking insane. We sent her to Argus with a few of her cronies to lead a normal, smaller troop there in part to get her far away from the kingdom but she's caused a lot of drama there in the last few months - between the incident with the mech, and, just a few days ago, with refusing to let Maria Calavera back into the kingdom after she'd been in Vacuo for a few weeks -"

"Why wouldn't the old bat let Calavera back into the kingdom?" Qrow asked her, completely lost. "And isn't Calavera Elizabeth's aunt?"

Winter sighed. "Well, Cordovan and Calavera have an...illustrious history to say the least, and Maria tried to bring cashews with her when she was trying to get back into the kingdom, Cordovan said the cashews were damning enough to bar her from getting on a ship -"

"That's stupid," Qrow remarked, and she laughed a little before going on.

"According to Madame Morell, Calavera then pulled her connexion to her which Cordovan said wasn't enough and that she didn't think was a good enough reason. The two of them snapped at each other for awhile, and it culminated in Maria stealing a ship to get back into the kingdom but getting caught because command realised that her voice wasn't that of a normal Atlas pilot - let alone the one that was supposed to be on that ship."

"She actually stole a ship?" Qrow repeated, and Winter nodded. "Damn, that woman has balls."

"She's sixty seven," Winter added. "I mean, she was a huntress, but still. Based on the playback from the ship and its communications that Madame Morell played for me, her jargon was perfectly fine and, under any other circumstances, I probably wouldn't have suspected anything. Anyways, Cordovan brought out the mech a second time just to fight it out with Calavera, and I think you have basic idea of what that's led to."

Qrow couldn't help but laugh at the thought. "I can see the Council going a bit crazy just trying to comprehend this."

"That's how it is," Winter admitted. "I don't think I've heard Madame Morell go on that long about anything before, let alone something like this."

"I take it she's pissed off?" Qrow suggested, and WInter nodded. "I'd love to see that."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you would."

"Hey," He said, as he drew her a bit closer. "I'm trying to show an interest in your work."

"You don't have to," She told him. "Really, you don't."

"Well," He said, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "Maybe I want to. After all, I love you."

* * *

"I can't believe we've been seeing each other for a month," Karissa remarked as she stepped into his apartment, his hand tightly in hers. "But are you sure that this is the right time?"

Spencer nodded. "They should know that we're together."

She sighed. "Alright, as long as you're sure."

Spencer hesitated but then pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "I'm sure, 'Rissa."

She smiled. "Okay."

"Natalie?" Spencer called out as he and Karissa hung up their coats. "Matt, Perce, can the three of you come in here? There's something we need to talk about."

Natalie all but ran into the room, dragging her youngest brother, who was clutching his blanket, with her.

"What is it, daddy?" She asked, then noticing Karissa. "You're pretty. Percy, come on, turn around and get up."

"I'm sleepy…" The six year old mumbled although he forced himself to stand up and then dragged himself over towards his father and wrapped himself around his leg. "Daddy, can you tuck me in?"

Spencer smiled as he ruffled his youngest's messy hair. "Of course, just say hi to 'Rissa, okay?"

Percival tilted his head slightly to look at the small, azure haired woman. "Hi 'Rissa."

"Hi, Percy," She said, smiling as Spencer picked him up and carried him into his room.

Natalie sighed as Matt came into the room. "Daddy says we need to talk about something."

Matt looked at her in confusion. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" She exclaimed. "Why would I have done something?

Matt shrugged. "You tried to get into the cabinet the other night that daddy says we're not allowed to open."

Karissa flinched a bit in spite of herself, having a feeling why Spencer would have that rule.

"I was curious!" She protested. "But I'm also tiny and couldn't get up there!"

"None of us can," Matt reminded her. "We're all little."

"What are you two talking about?" Spencer asked in slight amusement as he stepped back into the room. "If you two still want a pet ostrich, I'm going to remind you that we don't have space for that."

Natalie pouted. "But they're cool…"

"And they bite," Spencer reminded her. "And I don't want to have to go to the ER and tell them that one of my kids got bitten by their pet ostrich."

Karissa laughed a little. "You're joking, aren't you?"

Spencer shook his head. "Not in the slightest. I told them I'd consider us getting a pet and they came to a consensus for ostrich."

"What did you want to talk to us about?" Matt said suddenly, and Spencer sighed before motioning for them to sit down. "Nothing bad, right?"

Spencer shook his head. "Of course not."

Natalie bit her lip. "Then what is it, daddy?"

Spencer smiled as he wrapped an arm affectionately around Karissa. "Well, 'Rissa is my girlfriend. She and I have been seeing each other for about a month now, and I decided that you all deserved to know."

Matt nodded. "Are you going to marry her?"

Spencer paused, a faint blush rising in his cheeks. "Matt -"

"Not right now," Karissa said quickly, and he gave her a grateful look. "It'll be awhile before anything like that is even considered."

Natalie stared at her hands. "What about mommy?" She said quietly.

Spencer sighed. "Natalie, your mother is gone, and she isn't going to be coming back -"

"Cristal and Emmett -" The nine year old protested.

"Were missing," Spencer reminded her as gently as he could. "They weren't really dead, they were missing."

Natalie glanced down sadly at her hands.

"Natalie, I know you miss your mother but we all have to move on," Spencer said, giving Karissa gentle squeeze. "And 'Rissa and I do have feelings for each other."

The young girl considered that for a moment, but then nodded. "Okay."

"Are you going to be around a lot?" Matt asked, looking to Karissa. "Since you love daddy?"

"Well, I…" Karissa said, glancing to Spencer as she picked at her nails awkwardly. "Yes."

Natalie took that in for a moment but then nodded. "Can I go to sleep now, daddy? I'm tired…"

Spencer nodded and embraced her. "Night, Nattie."

She smiled. "Night, daddy."

Matt sat on the couch awkwardly for a minute before speaking. "I'm sleepy too."

Spencer gestured to the hallway down which the room his sons shared was as well as Natalie's, and then, of course, his own. "Then off to bed."

Matt nodded and all but dragged himself down the hall.

"They're cute," Karissa said as soon as they heard the door click shut behind Matt. "Really, they are. And Natalie looks a lot like you. Not that your sons don't, but the resemblance is striking...apart from her -"

"Silver eyes," Spencer said with a bit of sadness in his voice. "I just hope nothing happens to her because of them."

She hesitantly pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek and then released him. "Nothing's going to happen to her, Spencer, nothing's going to happen to any of them because of your semblance or anything like that."

Spencer sighed heavily as he stepped over to the highest cabinet and reached for a full, unused needle of diamorphine. "Honestly, 'Rissa, I'm damn scared and don't know what to do…"

She flinched as he injected the diamorphine into his vein and then discreetly tossed the used needle in the trash. "Spencer, that's not helping…"

He glanced at the crook of his elbow and then shook his head. "I'm trying so damn hard to get off it, 'Rissa, but I…"

She came over to him and embraced him tightly. "The last thing I want is for something to happen to you…"

Spencer probed his already numbing forehead. "I'm getting better -"

"Not fast enough if you're still…" Karissa bit her lip as she went on and looked at him worriedly. "I...I'm terrified that you're going to overdose, Spencer -"

"I…" He said, then pulling her close though everything around him was becoming more and more numb. "I don't want that either…"

"I love you…" She whispered, damning her better judgement. "I know it's too early, but I do…"

Spencer, albeit a bit awkwardly, guided her over to the couch and held her tightly in his arms as they curled up together. "There's nothing wrong with what you feel...but there is...there's a lot wrong with me…"

Karissa shook her head. "You're making progress, I just…I'd never…"

"I'm sorry I'm ruining your life…" He whispered. "I'm sorry I keep hurting everyone I love…"

Karissa stared at him for a long moment but then kissed him. "Don't say that again, ever. It's not true, and you know it."

Spencer glanced once more at the crook of his elbow. "I...I'm not so sure."


	65. Chapter 65

_**April 3rd  
Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council  
Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action  
Security Level: Mid-Range  
Necessary Security Clearance: To Be Authorised  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
1:34 PM**_

"Aunt Maria, was it really necessary to steal ship?" Elizabeth paced around her office, sounding a bit exasperated. "I know that you needed to come back into the kingdom, but you've -"

"Ousted Cordo for the lunatic she is," Maria said with a smirk. "I believe she's now facing harsh repercussions by the Council."

"Her summons to Atlas for analysis into this situation is not for another few weeks," Elizabeth reminded her. "And you know that there are people high up on this Council that will be on her side."

Maria scoffed. "Winchester's an old geezer who wouldn't know normal from crazy if it was wearing the tshirt that defines the two as different."

Elizabeth forced herself not to laugh. "Aunt Maria!"

"It's true!" She protested, chewing a little on her cashews. "You know it is, Elizabeth!"

She sighed. "You do know how bad a situation this is, don't you?"

"Are you two talking about what happened with Cordovan?" Kiara asked as she buzzed into the room. "Because, as bad as it is, at least we now have conclusive evidence that she is, to use the clinical phraseology, fucking insane."

Maria shrugged. "I've been saying that for years."

Kiara resisted the urge to laugh. "I'm sure you have been."

Maria gestured to Elizabeth. "My niece can tell you all about -"

"Oh god -" Elizabeth started.

"Well, see," Maria began with a smirk. "I -"

"Madame Morell?" Winter paused awkwardly in the doorway. "Is this a bad time?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "I take it you have the report on the incident regarding Fall making her way back into the kingdom?"

Winter sighed as she handed her the rather bulky file. "Yes, and I'm afraid that she's found to still be in the kingdom."

Elizabeth swore under her breath as she started to glance through the file. "No luck apprehending her, I take it?" She asked the younger woman.

"I'm afraid so," WInter said, then glancing to Maria. "I didn't realise you were staying in the kingdom."

"My niece has put a restraint on my traveling visas," Maria said with a heavy sigh. "I'm afraid that she has a reasonable justification, though, and that's regarding the fact that it's growing increasingly dangerous in the parts of the world I want to travel to...and so I've decided to remain in Atlas for the foreseeable future. And, also, after having a fight with an old she devil like Cordo that went down the way it did, I want to relax away from having my life in immediate danger."

Elizabeth glanced to her. "I'm glad you understand why and are in support of it."

"I'm not unreasonable," Maria said, standing up and leaning on her cane. "Cordo, well, she's unreasonable but she's also, as Kiara put it, fucking insane."

Winter raised an eyebrow but then shrugged. "If I may have permission to speak freely, she did rub off to me as a bit full of herself and attached very strongly to a false perception of her own status."

Elizabeth snorted. "If you want permission to speak freely, I'll grant it to you and you can go into a swearing tirade about the woman with absolutely no objections from anyone in this room. Kiara can't say anything on the subject of language without being a hypocrite, my aunt doesn't care, and, frankly, I can't stand Cordovan and think she should have been discharged with her cronies years ago."

Winter sighed. "She's still my superior."

"You report to General Ironwood, not her," Kiara reminded her. "And she's only one rank above you and would probably be below you if we hadn't sent her to Argus to get her out of our hair."

"Still better than the time when you all were low level members of the Council with no status and the then vice president convinced our then president to invade part of Vacuo for no reason and then, of course, ordered that the Dust mines be protected out of his interests," Maria remarked. "I never liked Van Dyke, and I'm glad that after his crazy term as the actual president that Ciel took power. I have issues with him, but he's sane, calm, and in many ways boring. And he's effectively guided the kingdom through...less than favourable circumstances and, of course, is a decent human being."

Elizabeth stared at her for a moment. "You pay more attention to politics than I give you credit for."

Maria smirked. "Well, it is one of my superpowers."

A silence passed that was only broken upon Elizabeth setting the file down a bit roughly on her desk.

"Schnee, since the report is done if you'd like to leave early you can," Elizabeth told her. "Frankly, I'd take advantage of any quiet time or time to relax while you've still got it. I can imagine that Qrow and a baby will be a lot to manage."

Winter rolled her eyes. "Madame Morell -"

"Seriously," She said, looking at her sharply. "You should take some time to relax. I'd certainly take it but in my position that's not exactly feasible."

Winter considered that for a moment. "Madame Morell, if there's anything else you need me to do, then I'm more than happy to do it."

"That report was actually what we needed the most at the moment," Elizabeth told her, and she relaxed just a little. "Considering the circumstances, the difficulty in finding information, and, of course, the relatively recent capture of Watts. If I'm not mistaken, his first court appearance is soon."

Kiara nodded. "It's set for the fifteenth."

"Tax day," Maria remarked dryly. "I wonder why."

"Because most of us don't need to come in that day," Kiara explained. "Just the people involved with the case directly and are not recused, so myself, a few investigators, and some of the other high ranking members of the DCCCP."

"What about Blake Adel?" Maria questioned. "Shouldn't he have a say?"

"Adel is recused because of the close family connexion and vendetta against him," Elizabeth said. "In the same way that the entire Ciel family is recused from matters involving Nicole Ciel and I am in matters involving Cinder Fall."

Maria sighed. "Sounds like the world gets more complicated every damn day…"

Winter bit her lip, but then nodded. "And I fear that it shows no signs of getting any better…"

* * *

"So, the Schnee Dust Company," Spencer said, looking to all of them as he paced around the room. "If the present is any indication, it's more than just a company - it's the cornerstone that an entire family is propped up on."

Weiss sighed as he continued to speak. "Why does he have to be right?" She whispered to Ruby.

The younger woman shrugged.

"Now, of course, as you all well know, the SDC was under fire for several months as the current CEO and COO of the company, Cristal and Emmett Schnee respectively, fought for the rights to the company against the prior CEO, Jacques Gele-Schnee," Spencer said as he continued to pace. "Gele-Schnee had been known for deceptive and unethical business practises well before the lawsuits for the control of the company were brought against him, and this meant that he was already engaged in several legal battles between himself and the Council."

Weiss dropped her head onto her desk, causing her teammates to look at her in concern. "I lived through this, do I really need to hear it?" She muttered.

Blake gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do you need one of us to help you pretend to be sick?"

"I can always shoot you," Yang said, a bit too loudly. "If it will help."

Spencer raised an eyebrow as he looked to her. "MIss Xiao Long, I think I speak for everyone when I say that none of us want to have you shoot someone in the middle of class."

Yang grimaced a bit awkwardly. "Well, Professor Ciel, I wasn't speaking _literally_ -"

"I very much hope so," Spencer said, then looking to Weiss. "Miss Schnee, are you alright?"

"I think I'm going to be sick…" She lied, looking up a little.

Spencer sighed and gestured to the door. "Head back to your dorm, your teammates can give you notes on anything you miss."

Weiss nodded as she quickly tore out of the room with her bag and Myrtenaster.

"That was interesting," Neon Katt whispered to Ruby. "Think this conversation is bothering her?"

Ruby nodded. "Well, it is really close to her, and her father lashed out at her, her sister, and mother over these issues."

Neon shook her head. "That's horrible."

"I agree," Ruby whispered as Spencer began talking once again and Blake took down a few more notes on what he was saying. "She's not always nice, but she's had it rough and when she's lashed out...well…"

"You still can't justify her rudeness to anyone who she is suspicious of," Blake said, sending Ruby a sharp look. "She might not be prejudiced against the faunus anymore, but she almost tore our team apart over the fact that a few radical White Fang members shot up relatives or family friends."

Ruby bit her lip. "I know."

"Can you not dampen the mood?" Yang asked them a bit sarcastically. "Since we're having so much fun right now -"

"Furthermore, with the recent reacquisition of the company by -" Spencer started though he was cut short upon the door opening to the room.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting a class," Ronnie Ciel said, adjusting his glasses and then raking a hand through his uncut, disheveled hair. "But there's something I need to discuss with Professor Ciel."

Yang started applauding. "Damn, this _is_ going to get interesting!"

Spencer sent her a sharp look. "Miss Xiao Long -"

"I'm going to have to ask all of you to leave," Ronnie said, and, after a moment of hesitation and murmuring, they all did so. "You'll have your professor back tomorrow, I promise."

Spencer scowled at his brother as soon as the door slammed behind the last student. "You can't just come in here and interrupt my classes because you want to."

"I'm pretty sure that I just did, unless you have invisible students," Ronnie replied dryly, causing his brother scowl at him more. "Alright, Spencer, look, I -"

"If you're about to say that you and Brianna are going to take my kids -" Spencer started with a warning note in his voice.

"I'm not going to take your kids from you," Ronnie told him calmly. "I'm not, and I have other worries."

"Right, I'm sorry," Spencer said, rolling his eyes. "How have things been going with your cushy job? Speaking of which, shouldn't you be at the Council's offices and preparing documents and such in order to promote the interests of our kingdom around the world?"

Ronnie groaned. "You're being impossible -"

"What do you want, Ronnie?" Spencer snapped. "Because if you about to accuse me of not trying to get past my addiction, if you're going to accuse me of being a terrible father -"

"If anything, you're a much better father than I'm going to be," Ronnie said, and Spencer raised an eyebrow. "Your kids adore you, they're sweet, and, as much as some of things you do to yourself aren't things they should have to be around, they decent people who, even at their young ages can think for themselves."

Spencer stared at him for a moment in surprise. "Are you joking?"

"I'm damn terrified," Ronnie admitted, rubbing his neck. "No more than Brie is, to be honest I think she's more scared -"

"You're worried about her, I understand," Spencer said, and Ronnie nodded. "Look, she's only about two months pregnant but she's going to be fine -"

"What if she miscarries, what if we lose our child?" Ronnie countered, his voice shaking. "What if I'm an absolutely horrible father to my child -"

"You're not going to be!" Spencer exclaimed, looking at his brother in exasperation. "You and I don't always get along, I don't agree with some of the things you've done, but I've known you since I was born! You're my older brother, and I know that you love Brianna! The two of you are going to be fine, your kid is going to be fine, and your lives are going to be better than mine!"

Ronnie bit his lip but then sighed. "Spencer, I shouldn't be hard on you because I'm stressed or being pulled too far and I have because its been easier than admitting how difficult some of things I've had to deal with are. I'm going to be honest, I was always jealous of you and Arianna."

Spencer glanced at his bare left hand. "Really?"

"Yes, I was," Ronnie said, despite the anxious feeling that was rising in him. "And even more so when your daughter was born."

Spencer was silent for a long moment as he took that in.

"Alright, you know what?" He finally said. "Why don't you and I set aside our differences and try and mend our relationship? It's not like our family doesn't have enough problems as it is."

Ronnie nodded. "That sounds better, especially with our father being more and m0re distant with us and our little sister being, well…"

"In the position she's put herself in," Spencer finished. "Anything else?"

"I just…" Ronnie shook his head as he went on. "None of us like your drug addiction...but I've always been shocked by how well you've managed to take care of your kids in spite of it."

"They're the only reason I didn't kill myself after what happened to Anna," Spencer said, looking away. "I'd fallen into the current issue a few months before she'd died, and she'd tried to help me off it and we'd been making progress but after what happened I...I slipped right back into it. I don't want to be tied to it, but I can't help that I am. I am fighting it, I want to live...I'm just not sure if I will."

"It's not just your kids that you need to worry about anymore, though," Ronnie said, and Spencer glanced to him in surprise. "You have Karissa too."

"I care about 'Rissa so much, Ronnie, and I -" Spencer started.

"I know you do," Ronnie said as gently as he could. "But she loves you and she'd be devastated if something happened to you. I know you know that, and, whether or not you'll say it, I also know you hold the same feelings for her that she does for you because you stopped wearing your wedding ring because of her."

Spencer hesitated before he spoke. "Ronnie, what do you want me to say?"

"That you're in love with -" Ronnie started, finding himself cut off upon the door opening once more.

"Ronnie?" Karissa raised an eyebrow in surprise. "General Ironwood said you were here, but I wasn't -"

"Just having friendly conversation with my brother," Ronnie said, playfully punching Spencer in the arm but causing him to flinch. "There are a few things that he's more knowledgeable than me in."

Karissa crossed her arms. "You know that you're supposed to be in a meeting with Prime Minister Varna in an hour - a meeting that you've finally run out excuses for putting off."

Ronnie sighed. "We have conclusive evidence that she's involved with people like and including Cinder Fall -"

"And she's still the Prime Minister Of Vacuo and the Atlesian Council, at the moment, doesn't have a strong enough case to levy charges against a foreign leader," Karissa replied. "Ronnie, just be careful with her and you'll be fine. It's not as if she's going to try and slit your throat in this meeting because you're not fighting on Salem's side."

Ronnie stared at her in shock. "How do you know about that?"

"Well, Elizabeth told me a few years back and Spencer's filled in any gaps from more recently that I haven't heard myself," She said, tugging on the sleeves of her blazer. "And I know that Ozpin told you and your wife about this not too long ago, so…"

Ronnie was silent for a moment but then nodded. "Fine, sorry for trying to weasel my way out of a meeting and alleviate my fears about having a child at the same time."

Spencer rolled his eyes. "You and Brianna are going to be fine."

Ronnie sighed heavily as he stepped out of the room. "You know, honestly, I hope you're right."

Karissa raised an eyebrow as the door slammed behind him. "Did he interrupt a lecture?"

"Like no other," Spencer muttered. "He's got terrible timing for pretty much everything. I think you can put the pieces together. He's worried about his wife being pregnant, he's worried about what he's going to be like as a father, and, apparently, he's jealous of me in more than one way."

Karissa nodded. "That sounds about right."

"Really?" Spencer said, a bit surprised. "He's -"

"Spencer, he's always been jealous of your family even if he's refused to make it obvious," Karissa said. "He actually only admitted it to his wife, but Brie told me and Elizabeth because she was worried about him."

"I...I didn't realise," Spencer said, still trying to process. "That's...okay, that's a surprise."

Karissa was silent for a long moment before glancing towards the door. "I should probably leave before your next class. We'll talk later, okay?"

He nodded. "Alright...but, 'Rissa? I...I...I love you."

She stared at him in surprise but then smiled. "I love you too, Spencer."

"I know…" He said, rubbing his arm and vowing even more to not let him or his semblance hurt anyone he loved.


	66. Chapter 66

_**April 11th  
Atlas Academy  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
8:12 PM**_

"Weiss?" Ruby flipped herself downwards from her bunk bed to stare at her teammate. "Whatcha doing?"

Weiss sighed as she continued to stare at her scroll, her eyes narrow. "Nothing of importance, Ruby."

"That's subtle," Blake remarked, looking up from her novel. "Something's bothering you, Weiss."

She shut her scroll and all but slammed it down on the nightstand. "Look, maybe I just don't want to talk about it."

Ruby hopped down from her bed and looked at her teammate in concern. "But it seems like you were messaging someone. Did they say something?"

Weiss scowled at her but then shook her head. "Fine. I got a message from the parole officer managing my father's case."

Yang looked at her in surprise. "Are you joking?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Of course, Yang, I would joke about my abusive and now thankfully imprisoned father."

Yang put up her hands in mock surrender. "Okay, sorry, Weiss."

"Apparently, even though he won't be up for parole for another several years, he's spoken to his parole officer who has contacted me," Weiss said, crossing her arms. "She says that my father has requested that my sister, brother, and I speak with him. She said that Whitley -"

"I'm sure who didn't say no," Blake muttered.

"Actually," Weiss said, glancing to Blake. "My brother vociferously said no. WInter apparently informed her that she'd 'consider' it. I have yet to respond."

"So…" Ruby said nervously. "What are you going to do?"

Weiss hesitated. "There is a part of me that wants to confront him for everything he did to me since he can't do anything now...but there's a part of me that wants to forget about him as much as I can and just move on with my life."

Blake sighed. "I think you should just move on. You've come so far from where you were, you know he's just going to remind you of what you were. And, even more than that, even though he can't do anything to you he can still remind you of what he wanted, of the control he had. Don't you think it's just better to let it go and pretend that it never happened?"

"That's not healthy," Ruby said. "It's just not."

"That depends," Blake replied. "It's what I do with Adam -"

"Let's not talk about him," Yang said, her metal arm twitching. "Please."

Blake nodded and placed a hand over her girlfriend's. "Sorry. I shouldn't -"

"It's fine," Yang said almost tonelessly. "And, Weiss, I think you should tell the bastard exactly what you feel, exactly what he's done, and see if he can realise that he's fucked up in more ways than just one, that he'll never truly know love or friendship because of his lust for power."

Weiss stared at her for a moment. "You really think that would be the best way to go?"

Yang nodded. "There's nothing good that comes out of running away."

"Sometimes there's no other way to protect yourself or someone else," Blake countered, her cat ears pressing into her head. "In this case, it's about protecting herself."

"You have to face what scares you," Yang replied. "You have to fight back!"

"Yang…" Ruby said slowly. "Your eyes…."

Yang glanced in the mirror and noticed her eyes had shifted from their typically placid lilac to red.

"Well, fighting back is what I would do," Yang said, crossing her arms. "And since her father can't do anything to her, I think he needs to hear his...well, as Caitlin would put it, he needs to hear his sins spelled out in black and white."

Weiss considered that and then glanced to her scroll. "I like that, and...and I think the only way to move on might be by confronting my past directly."

"Weiss, wait," Blake said as she reached for her scroll. "If you think you have to do this to be strong or brave or something like that, then you're not doing it for the right reason. I'll support you if you want to fight this fight because of what it's done to you, but I won't support you fighting the right fight for all the wrong reasons."

Weiss was silent for a long moment. "That's not what this is about."

"Are you sure?" Blake asked her, and she nodded. "Okay, then. Good luck."

Weiss sighed heavily as she dialed the number of the parole officer. "Hello? Officer Puckett, I've made a decision on my father's request from earlier."

"And what's that?" Samantha Puckett replied, her voice a bit more colloquial in its tone than most in her field. "I personally think he's trying to get under your skin, but you're free to do whatever you want."

Weiss bit her lip but then forced herself to speak. "I'd like to have the opportunity to discuss...some family matters with him in a few days."

"Does April the fifteenth work?" Puckett asked her. "Since not a whole lot of people are gonna be here anyways? I will be, but it ain't gonna be a lot of people. Apart from those involved in Watts' trial, that is."

"That works," Weiss said. "I'll inform General Ironwood that I'll be absent that day for that reason."

"No need," Puckett assured her. "I can tell him myself. The General and I...have an understanding that stems from my history."

Weiss laughed a little. "Alright, thank you."

"No problem," Puckett told her. "Really, I'm simply amazed that you're willing to do this. Most people in your position would run away but you...you seem stronger than most. You remind me a lot of your sister, actually. She and I were in the same team at Atlas Academy, if you recall."

Weiss smiled. "I do."

"Well, I'm just glad that you've grown up to have a spine," Puckett sighed. "A lot of people don't."

Weiss bit her lip. "I know."

"We'll be in touch," Puckett said. "And I'll take care of everything prior to the fifteenth."

"Okay," Weiss said as she hung up the call and then looked to her teammates. "Well, there goes nothing."

"There goes you getting to finally say what you've bitten back," Yang said with a smile. "It's time that you show him who you really are."

* * *

"And so the -" Spencer went on, although his youngest son interrupted him with a question.

"Daddy?" Percival said, his green eyes wide. "Who's Mister Watson?"

Spencer swallowed hard as his son passed him the bill from Watson Pharmaceuticals. "Umm…" He said slowly. "He's the family PI, he works for my...elder sister, aunt Emmeline, and investigated what happened to mommy."

Natalie leaned forward to look at the paper curiously. "What's a 'pharmaceuticals'?"

"Nothing," Spencer said with surprisingly firm finality, and all his kids looked at him in surprise but then nodded even as he slipped the paper into his back pocket. "Do you three want me to finish the story?"

Natalie nodded, clutching her bunny tightly to her chest. "Yeah, daddy."

"The four maidens, with their powers kept close to the chest, went out into the world with the goal of helping humanity," Spencer said, glancing at the clock. "And, in that moment, Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall set out upon the world to share their powers with Remnant in the time before kingdoms, before the world of today."

Matt grinned as Spencer shut the rather large tome of fairytales and set it on the nightstand. "Can you read another one, daddy?"

Spencer shook his head and ruffled his eldest son's hair affectionately. "No, it's time for the three of you to go to sleep."

Matt pouted for a moment but then all but dragged his little brother to the other side of the room. "Get in your bed, Percy!"

Percival stuck out his tongue. "Don't be mean!"

"I'm eight!" Matt exclaimed. "You're only six!"

"Both of you need to go to sleep," Spencer told them, and both boys stared at him for a moment before doing what he said. "Alright, now, Natalie, come on."

She sighed as she stood up with her bunny still tightly in her arms. "Okay."

"Night, Matt, Perce," Spencer said as he shut the door behind him and Natalie. "Now, Natalie..."

"Yeah, yeah," She said as she pushed open the door to her room and climbed into her bed. "I need to sleep too."

"It's a biological need," Spencer reminded her, and she laughed. "No, I'm serious."

"I know," She said. "But it's funny that you said it."

"Well, sometimes you and your brothers need an extra push," Spencer said from the doorway. "And I like you three knowing why we do certain things rather than just doing them because you're told to."

She shrugged. "Okay…"

Spencer smiled weakly as he shut the door to his daughter's room. "Get some sleep, Nattie."

"Okay…" She mumbled quietly through the door.

Sighing heavily as he stepped out into the main living space of the apartment, he pulled the slightly crumpled bill out from his back pocket. He considered tearing it into tiny pieces and then destroying the diamorphine and needles he had in the cabinet, but instead he flattened out the paper on the counter and stared at it for a long moment. His shoulders tensed, his hands grasped the edge of the counter. After no more than a minute had passed, he forced himself to stop focusing on the bill, on his mistakes, and instead started to pace. His footsteps were quiet so as to not wake up his kids, but his thoughts were anything but. They were beating him, they were belittling him, and they were bringing forth all of his anger towards himself and, more recently, his semblance. It was not until he heard a quiet knock at the door that he stopped and drew himself away from the thoughts. In spite of everything, upon seeing the woman staring at him, he couldn't help but smile and embrace her.

"They're already asleep," Spencer told her as she stepped into his apartment and he shut the door behind her. "Not that I'm surprised, they've had a long day."

Karissa nodded. "I take it you took them out?"

"I took them downtown for most of the day," Spencer admitted. "It's a Saturday anyways, so it's not as if they have anything going on tomorrow that they'll have to wake up early for."

"Fair enough," Karissa said, then sighing. "Are you sure you're okay, Spencer? You've seemed a bit upset the last few days."

He hesitated. "'Rissa, I…"

"What happened?" She asked him gently. "Spencer?"

He gently wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in close, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "I promise, I'm working everything out."

She raised an eyebrow. "Spencer, I'm serious, what's happened?"

He sighed. "Nothing terrible...I just….I'm trying to force myself off it, that's all."

Karissa stared at him but then wrapped her arms tightly around him. "Oh, Spencer…"

"I've been doing my best," He said. "I've been on it less, I've forced myself to not buy more than a little bit and I've been trying to do a little less each month, but…"

"Spencer, it's going to be fine," She said, resting her head on his shoulder. "You believe me, don't you?"

"I want to," He said, pulling her closer. "But I...god, every time that one of my kids sees something that could lead them to but the pieces together...it scares me."

"Did that happen recently?" She asked him gently. "Spencer?"

He sighed once more. "One of my sons saw a bill from Watson Pharmaceuticals that I accidentally left around, and all three of them were curious about it...what's horrible is not just that it makes me feel weak, or like a terrible parent, or dangerous...but that it makes me feel guilty and I want nothing more than to damn it and all this shit I've dragged myself into to hell. And...I can't bear to think about the day that they'll figure out what it really means."

"Spencer, is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" Karissa looked at him, her brown eyes wide. "Spencer, I -"

"Stay…" He murmured, giving her a gentle squeeze before releasing her. "Do you have to go into the Council tomorrow?"

"Not until the afternoon," She said, then raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

"If you want to…" He said slowly. "You can stay here tonight with me."

She hesitated. "Do you think that's too soon?"

Spencer released her but then cupped her face in his hands. "'Rissa, I'm not suggesting we have sex. I'm not ready for that, and I know you're not either. I meant we just stay together."

She considered that. "Alright." She finally said, kissing him gently. "Just, one thing, Spencer?"

"Yeah?" He said, looking at her in concern as the two of them walked into his room, their hands tightly intertwined. "Are you okay, 'Rissa?"

She nodded but then sighed. "The other day, after I interrupted whatever you and Ronnie were talking about regarding his family, did you mean it when you said you love me."

Spencer nodded as the two of them climbed into the bed and he pulled her close. "Yes, I did."

She blinked but then smiled weakly. "Do you remember -"

"I remember the night that you first told me you love me," Spencer promised, and her arms tightened around him a bit. "I know I was...that I was a bit...a bit high but I remember you saying you love me before things got too hazy to remember. I just...I didn't know what to say because I didn't…"

"You were scared, and it was -" Karissa said softly.

"Too soon," Spencer finished. "But, as much as it might seem ridiculous, I don't think it's too soon anymore."

"We've been seeing each other since the end of February," She said, albeit a bit hesitantly. "I think we both know exactly how we feel now."

"I agree," Spencer murmured as they slowly fell asleep in each other's arms. "And I don't want to change a damn thing between us, not right now…"


	67. Chapter 67

_**April 15th  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
6:34 PM**_

Weiss hesitantly stepped into the cell in which her father was being held. "Hello, father."

Jacques sighed. "Of all of the people -"

"Just be glad they're keeping you somewhere relatively nice in comparison to normal prison," Weiss snapped, anxiety pooling in her as she did so. "I'm sure that solitary confinement is much better than dealing with prison gangs, and, the way I hear it, you need to be here because you're still cooperating with the government."

Jacques looked at her for a moment in surprise. "The irony in that stems from the fact that everything you said, regardless of your anger, is completely true."

"I'm not stupid," Weiss replied, crossing her arms. "And I've learned enough in the last few years to recognise what lies beneath people's facades."

Jacques rolled his eyes. "And yet you still can't understand that you're blunt stubborness is going to cause you more problems than it will solve. If you want to hold onto anything, if you want to gain anything, then you're going to have to do things that people aren't necessarily going to view favourably."

Weiss snorted. "Yes, and look where that's gotten you."

"On the contrary, I'm in this position because of carelessness rather than anything else," Jacques said, bitterness lacing his voice. "If the people working below me hadn't let things slip, then Emmett and Cristal would never have been able to make a strong case against me because their case was less rooted within the provisional clause in Nicholas' will, but rather in the, as Cristal put it, 'atrocities committed for the sake of furthering the company rather than protecting the lives that it was propped up upon, i.e. in the paradigm of the expendability of others in lower caste sections.'"

"She's right," Weiss said, her foot tapping anxiously against the floor. "Maybe if you hadn't been so concerned about yourself, the family would have been better off and there never would have been so much violence against the family."

"And you are talking in hypothetical situations that did not happen," Jacques countered. "So, therefore, your point is not based in argumentative fact."

Weiss sighed. "I know you're trying to distract me from the issues within the family."

"Yes, that would be the correct assumption," Jacques said. "And believe me when I say I have no intention of getting into that. I have done what I felt was necessary to keep the family together and within high status. I see nothing to be ashamed of."

Weiss stared at him and then shook her head. "Of course you don't."

Jacques narrowed his eyes as she left up then, at barely a murmur, spoke. "And what do you know?"

Weiss all but slammed the door behind her. "He doesn't listen." She said, crossing her arms as she looked to the small, pale blonde woman with a curly pixie cut that was sitting outside the cell on a stool and glancing through tabs on her scroll.

"You think I don't know that?" She replied, looking up at Weiss. "I get paid to deal with him and make sure he continues to cooperate with the Council so long as he wants to get parole as even an option in ten years."

Weiss bit her lip. "Is he actually cooperating with the Council or is he not?"

Puckett hesitated. "Yes, he is, although how useful he'll turn out to be has yet to be seen. With Watts' trial starting today, I have a feeling that whatever he'll be almost certainly be dragged into is going to show the extent to which he'll truly cooperate in ways that could sway our decision making in his favour."

Weiss nodded. "That makes sense."

"I have to say, though, that I'm surprised he chose to cooperate at all," Puckett shook her head as she went on. "At the end of the day I shouldn't be terribly surprised. He is, after all, known for doing whatever will benefit him the most. It is in his best interest to cooperate with the Council, and so he is. Similarly, it seemed once in his best interest, from a socio-economic standpoint, to fund people like Watts and Merlot. If he wasn't so selfish and cold that he hurt you, your brother and sister, and your mother, I might actually feel a great deal of sympathy for him. Instead, I see a man who has dragged himself into his own mess and needs to be guided out of it - albeit with some hard jail time mixed in there. He does get solitary confinement, though, so he should be eternally grateful for that."

"If you're spreading prison gang stories, I'm not sure I want to hear them reiterated," The clipped and polished voice of Elizabeth Morell said as she stepped out of the elevator. "Especially considering that Weiss herself doesn't need to be scared. She's going to officially be a huntress in a year and a half, so I think we should give her a pass."

Puckett laughed. "Excellent timing as always, Elizabeth."

"And I thought we discussed the fact that you can't go around calling your superiors by their first name," Elizabeth replied, albeit with a faint smirk. "Samantha Puckett."

The taller woman stood up and affected an exaggerated bow. "Madame Elizabeth Morell."

Weiss giggled a bit in spite of herself. "Is there anything that I need to do?"

"I'll escort you back to Atlas Academy in a few minutes," Puckett told her, and she nodded. "However," Puckett hesitated as she looked back to Elizabeth. "I believe we'll have a few things to discuss later."

Elizabeth sighed heavily, but nodded nonetheless. "Sam, inform him that in the next few days we're going to need him to confirm or deny anything that Watts says today in court relating to their connexions in full writing and full disclosure of any and all events. And...do remind him that's part of his cooperation agreement with the Council."

"Has he said anything damning yet?" Puckett asked, an eyebrow raised.

Elizabeth shook her head. "The trial isn't opening until eight twenty five."

Puckett rolled her eyes. "Typical."

"It'd be worse if most of us weren't out and today weren't tax day," Elizabeth reminded her, and Puckett shrugged. "On the other hand, it might be a bit easier with more people to keep this in line. Either way, we all know what the basic end result is going to be."

Puckett snorted. "Yeah, hard prison time and no parole. Not that the rat bastard deserves any less."

"No kidding," Elizabeth said, then motioning to Weiss to come over to them. "I'm going to speak with Jacques briefly...there may be more than a few things that he's left out of his official story."

* * *

"I can't believe that its taken the Council this long to finally be able to get Watts on trial for his crimes," Qrow remarked, leaning against the counter. "I mean, Atlas is a world superpower, you'd think that the kingdom would be able to get things done efficiently."

"And you would be wrong," Winter told him, and he shrugged. "The Council is more often than not at odds with itself."

Karissa laughed. "That's more true than you even know."

"Of course it is," Qrow said with a smirk. "You're the head of the DFAMA, you and Lizzie are given the job of herding several high up members of the Council with sticks up their asses."

"That's not entirely fair," Winter said, giving him a sharp look. "And I seriously doubt that their jobs entail herding."

"Well…" Spencer said, glancing to Karissa. "What do you think?"

She shrugged. "I have overheard some strange conversations between people before."

"About what?" Winter asked her, half amused.

"Fighting techniques," Karissa said, then rolling her eyes. "Traditional sword fighting, and someone said that they were torn between saying 'vigorous stabbing' or 'vigorous touching' since they were pretty sure both would get them called out to human resources."

Spencer laughed. "Sounds like something I'd say to my brother if I were to challenge him to a duel."

Qrow snorted. "You'd really challenge Ronnie to a duel like that?"

"I know how to use weaponry," Spencer reminded him. "I was gun trained, and I did attend Atlas Academy during my internship at the Council before I quit my job a few years ago and started teaching history."

"How exactly would you phrase your challenge?" Karissa questioned with a smirk. "Honestly, Spence, I'm curious."

He grinned and took an en garde stance. "I see you've demanded a fight, Ronnie. Well, prepare yourself for a vigorous touching!"

Winter, Karissa, and Qrow burst into laughter.

"I have to admit," Winter said as she tried to force herself to regain her composure. "It's hard to amuse me more than you just did."

"I agree," Qrow said, playfully punching him in the arm. "You're funnier than you'll ever admit."

"That was a serious response!" Spencer insisted. "Honestly!"

"I know," Karissa said, wrapping an arm around him. "But that's what makes it better."

Spencer sighed. "I suppose…"

"No, she's right," Qrow said, sending him a serious look. "You should really listen to her. I have a feeling your sister has told you the same thing."

Spencer scowled. "Emmeline can tell me anything she wants because she's helped me out more than once, she watches my kids all the time - including right now - and, yes, she has said that and, yes, she's right."

"I'm not necessarily fond of admitting it, but Emmeline's usually right," Qrow said, and Winter rolled her eyes. "At the end of the day, she tends to be more aware of what's going on than anyone else. Actually, for as much as she and I don't get along very well, Emmeline and Elizabeth are usually the two who are right."

"I'd agree with that," Karissa said. "Although that's not always a guarantee."

"Because anything's a guarantee nowadays," Winter remarked dryly. "It seems that more things become less certain every day."

Spencer looked vaguely sick for a moment and then all but ran off to the bathroom.

"The truth about his semblance still bothering him?" Qrow asked Karissa after a rather awkward minute passed in silence. "Or is it something else?"

"It's…" Karissa said slowly. "It's a lot of things, most of them relating to his worries about his kids and what might happen to him...and I think he might also be worried about me."

Qrow stared at her for a moment before his red eyes went wide. "No way. You two slept together?"

"Qrow!" Winter exclaimed, slapping him in the arm. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"That was a honest to god question," He replied, kissing her cheek and giving her an affectionate squeeze. "Come on, you know you've softened up even if you won't admit it."

"And that's not -" She argued.

"If you're suggesting that Spencer and I have had sex, then you're wrong," Karissa said, irritably tossing her azure curls back over her shoulder and scowling at Qrow. "But, yes, without the euphemism what you said is true."

Qrow glanced to Winter. "When?"

Karissa turned a bit pink in spite of herself. "Well…"

"It was recently," Qrow surmised, and she groaned. "What?"

"Yes, and I am not going to get into the details of my personal life with you because I'm sure if I started asking you the same questions that you'd get rather uncomfortable," Karissa replied. "So if you could take a break from being a pain in the ass for two minutes -"

"Hey, hey," Qrow said, looking to his wife who simply sighed and rested a hand lightly over her curve. "I get it, sorry, you Atlas people have different boundaries."

Karissa was silent for a moment but then nodded and started towards the bathroom. "I'm going to go see if he's alright."

Qrow nodded. "Okay."

Winter sent him a sharp look. "You're ridiculous sometimes."

"Sure," He said with a smirk. "But you love me for it."

Down the hall, Karissa hesitated for a moment but then lightly knocked against the door. "Spencer? What's going on?"

"I…" He said weakly. "Just come in…"

Karissa sighed as she stepped quickly into the small bathroom and then closed the door behind her. "Spencer," She said gently, seeing the way he was sitting against the tub and probing his forehead. "You look horrible."

"Am I just an awful person?" He asked her, running a hand through his disheveled dark curls. "Or am I really just damned to my semblance?"

She sat down next to him and took his hands in hers. "I am going to keep telling you to stop hurting yourself from the inside because of your pain until you stop, just like I am with your addiction."

Spencer stared at her for a moment. "What if I don't come out of this alive, though?"

"That isn't going to happen," She promised, although her voice was shaking and she was fighting back tears as she embraced him. "It won't, you're stronger than you're giving yourself credit for being."

He bit his lip but then kissed her softly. "I don't know how you do it…"

"I...I don't know either," She admitted. "But I hope it's going to be okay."

He nodded. "So do I...but...one thing…"

Karissa looked at him in surprise. "What is it?"

"I don't want to lose you…" He whispered, pulling her closer. "I don't care how irrational it is, but I...I want you to move in with me. If you want to…"

She was silent for a long moment. "I don't know, Spencer…"

"The other night was fine," He reminded her. "It'd be like that, I don't want us to move too fast but at the same time I don't want us to lose each other."

Karissa hesitated, but then nodded. "Alright."

He pulled her only closer. "I love you so damn much…" He whispered, his voice breaking a little as he spoke.

* * *

"April the fifteenth," The judge began and the murmurs in the courtroom instantly ceased. "Atlas, at eight twenty-five in the evening or twenty twenty-five universal standard. Brought before the court in the case of Kingdom Of Atlas VS Arthur Watts, defendant, this marks the first day in court."

It seemed that everyone in the room looked up at the man who was in a decently clean suit of his, albeit with a noticeable aura cuff on his wrist and a sense of unkemptness to the man who had before gone out of his way to be haughtily composed.

"Charges brought forth by the Kingdom Of Atlas against the defendant," The judge went on. "These charges are: aiding and abetting the Fall Of Beacon Academy, money laundering, attack and attempted murder upon the head of the Department Of Justice, Blake Matthew Adel, and his wife, Allison Rebecca Adel or nee Canson/Watts. Furthermore, the Kingdom Of Atlas charges Mister Watts with outright attempts to collude with a foreign power against the justice system in our kingdom, as well as multiple counts of identity fraud."

Kiara Davis stood up slowly, stepped forward to the stand, and then looked sharply at Watts. "Do you plead guilty or not guilty to these charges?"

Watts considered that for a moment. "I do plead guilty to these charges - however, I would like to request that the Kingdom Of Atlas not move forward with sentencing quite yet."

Davis raised an eyebrow. "This court requires an explanation for such a request."

Watts pursed his lips but nodded regardless of the fact. "If the Kingdom Of Atlas agrees to provide me with...protection from those who might seek to kill or silence do to...previous ties, I would like to extend an olive branch in the form of a...shall we say plea bargain."

Davis raised an eyebrow as the murmurs in the courtroom were roused again. "And what terms do you propose?"

"I provide the Atlesian Council with whatever information they demand from both my prior and current work," Watts said, then clearing his throat as he went on. "However, because of this, upon the closing of this case I insist upon being let free with no jail time."

"No," The judge said almost immediately and with surprising firmness. "That would be incongruous."

"On the contrary," Watts said, condescension lacing his voice. "I think it will provide us all with what we desire. The Council received invaluable information that only I hold, I am permitted to go free -"

"Your history does not suggest that you 'going free', immediately after providing the Council with whatever information you may very well have, would end well for the majority of the parties involved," Davis said, her voice becoming increasingly clipped. "In contrast, it suggests that you are extremely dangerous and ought to be locked up."

"Madame Davis," Watts said, feigning a cough as he looked to her. "Compromise, as you very well know, does not leave both parties completely happy. I would be much happier if I were not in this situation to begin with, for example, but I am making the best of it because I must."

Davis narrowed her eyes. "Counterproposal motions that your prison sentence and chances for parole will be reconsidered and likely lessened after you are fully and openly cooperative with the Atlesian Council."

"The Council backs down on the prison sentence." Watts said sharply, as if he still had power within the kingdom.

"This Council will not back down from the consideration of a prison sentence," The judge said with finality. "However, the length and severity of that sentence will be determined with cooperation efforts in mind."

"Furthermore," Davis said, her heels clicking as she began to pace. "If you are set free, you will be forced to comply with a restraining order that this Council has recently approved on the will of the Adel family against you based upon several things you are reported to have said to your daughter, son in law, and eldest two granddaughters."

Watts shook his head. "I will not comply with a baseless order."

"You are not in a strong position to negotiate," Davis reminded him. "You have committed atrocities against innocent people, you have harmed your own family, you have broken over a dozen laws for your personal gain. Cooperation is the best deal that you will receive at this point, Mister Watts, and it will be on _our_ terms."

Watts scowled. "It's _doctor_."

"Your title was revoked several years ago," Davis reminded him, raising her voice a little as the continued murmurs in the room grew only louder still. "You have a choice, Mister Watts, and pray that you make the right one."

Watts was silent for a long moment, tapping his fingers against the wood of the stand.

"Define your terms, Madame Davis," He finally said, deciding that he'd find a way to work around whatever he was dragging himself into by playing two sides. "I am listening."

Kiara raised an eyebrow but did so nonetheless. "You will provide the Atlesian Council with any and all evidence pertaining to ongoing investigations both directly and indirectly related to crimes to which you have knowledge of. Furthermore, if something is left out, you will fill that in. You will also offer fully compliance to the restraining order that has been approved for the entire Adel family - Blake Matthew Adel, Allison Rebecca Adel, Coco Madison Adel, Heather Lianna Adel, Lillian Jane Adel, and Emmett Blake Adel - against you. In return, the Atlesian Council will protect you from those who you are testifying against, will place you in solitary confinement rather than open prison, and will reconsider the length and severity of your prison sentence after full cooperation has been reached. Is all of that clear?"

Watts nodded once. "Is that all?"

"Yes," Davis said. "If more must be added, such will be done at a later date. Do you agree to those terms?"

"Yes," Watts said, although he knew he had to be careful with the lines he was treading especially in regards to Salem and not risking any attempts to, even by accident, circumvent her will.

Davis motioned for a scribe. "Draw up and print off a copy of the plea bargain. We need to put this in writing."

"Of course," The scribe said, quickly scuttling out of the room.

And, not terribly far from where they were, a certain violet eyed woman scowled at what she was seeing in the mirror and promptly used her magic to shatter it into dust that floated around her before scattering to the floor - much like her equally conflicted and compromised loyalties.


	68. Chapter 68

_**April 21st  
Atlas Academy  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
9:34 PM**_

"Damn it!" Yang exclaimed as Qrow beat her once again. "How are you so good at this?"

Qrow smirked. "Practice."

Ruby giggled as she watched, albeit hanging upside down from her bed. "Come on, Yang, you can beat him!"

She squared her shoulders and all but hunched over to stare more intently at the screen with her fingers hovering over the controls on her scroll. "I better, damn it."

Qrow laughed. "Good luck, firecracker."

"Go!" Ruby hollered.

Weiss covered her ears for a moment before turning to Ruby. "Can you not scream like that for no reason? Especially in the dorm?"

Ruby sighed as her dad and her cousin continued to fight each other all but to the death in their video game. "Alright, yeah, sorry."

"I have to get this paper written out for history," Weiss told her, gesturing to her laptop. "Okay?"

"You could always have Caitlin do it," Ruby said, shrugging. "I'm sure she could pull one of her old essays on the topic."

"She'd never agree, and that's not ethical," Weiss replied. "And, besides, she's got way too much going on for that to be useful. I think she published an editorial last week about how we have not been stripped of our ability to tell truth from lies."

Ruby shrugged. "Of course she did. Didn't Elizabeth used to be a journalist?"

Weiss nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

"You could tell me Lizzie had anything to do with politics and I'd believe it," Qrow remarked. "She's brilliant, in spite of being a complete bitch sometimes."

"Ha!" Yang shrieked as she defeated her uncle in the game. "I win! Take that, uncle Qrow, I finally defeated you -"

"Hey," He said, giving her a sharp look. "I was distracted by talk of a certain person known as Elizabeth Morell."

Yang smirked. "I still beat you."

"Yeah, well -" Qrow started although he was cut off upon the door opening. "Emmett?"

"I'm not even going to ask why you're stupid enough not to lock doors, but there's something that you need to know about," He said, and Qrow raised an eyebrow in surprise although he left his niece, daughter, and their teammates nonetheless and started to walk down the hall with Emmett. "You know what happened with the Relic Of Knowledge, right?"

Qrow nodded. "It sounded like your daughter is as resourceful as ever. A lot like you, actually."

Emmett laughed. "That's similar to what I said to Emmy when she was lecturing Cas. She was amused, but at the same time she was still annoyed with our little girl."

"Isn't Cas going to be eighteen in September?" Qrow raised an eyebrow as the two of them stepped out into the courtyard. "Or has shit happened with her age that's made her a kid again?"

Emmett rolled his eyes. "Sorry that I didn't even know my own child until she was almost an adult."

"Well -" He paused for a moment upon seeing Winter, Blake, Allison, Emmeline, Glynda, and James. "Oh, alright, what happened?"

Winter crossed her arms. "Is that any way to greet your wife?"

He smirked as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Was that better, Win?"

She smiled, albeit blushing a little. "Yes."

"Just to be clear," Emmeline said, giving Qrow a sharp look. "This has more to do with concerns than something that's already been confirmed."

He stared at her for a moment in surprise. "Regarding Varna?"

"No," She said, sharing a look with James. "That matter has already been, at least, investigated to in some capacity and is continuing to be."

"Then what is it?" Qrow asked her. "I take it this has something to do with Cinder?"

"Yes and no," Glynda said, and Emmeline sent her a grateful look as Emmett took her hand. "Yes in the sense that she's supsected to be involved, no in the sense that it's her directly."

Qrow looked at all of them in confusion. "That doesn't quite make sense."

"It does when you consider what could have motivated her to come into the kingdom at the same time, about, as Varna," Blake countered. "We think, based on a few things that Victoria said to Emmett last week -"

"Suggesting that I need to be careful because of her, and not just because she's been threatening Emmy and Cas for years -" Emmett interjected.

"That Cinder's real reason for trying to get into the kingdom is to influence her mother," Blake finished. "Because of Victoria's power, her position, her wealth., etc."

Winter raised an eyebrow. "How exactly would she manage that? My grandmother is not exactly known for doing what people tell her to for any reason. That's part of why she ended up with so much money in the divorce settlement."

"Who knows," Allison said, looking a bit worriedly to her husband as she went on. "But if Cinder gets her way, and that was her real reason for coming into the kingdom, then Victoria will been in a position to do anything she wants, whether it's for herself, Cinder, Salem, or even -"

"Watts is in jail," Blake gently reminded her. "He can't do anything."

"And the chances are that he's never going to be released," James added as he wrapped an arm gently around Glynda. "No matter how much he provides us in court."

"I'm actually more disturbed by one of the implications of this, so long as my hunch about my dad is correct," Emmeline said hesitantly. "That being that I'm almost certain they're romantically involved. If she could influence my dad in his decisions without him realising that he -"

"Then things would be bad," Emmett finished. "But, it's alright, Emmy. It's probably nothing, and my mother isn't that crazy. She wouldn't turn to Ashlynn, not with everything."

Yet what they didn't know was that the certain red headed woman they were discussing did have conflicted loyalties, but was also in fact in a relationship with that man - a relationship that was yet to be made public.

* * *

Brianna Ciel shook her head as she continued to type up the last bit of her report. "Once this is done…" She murmured to herself. "I can finally go home and get some sleep…"

"Understandable," A familiar voice remarked from the doorway. "I do the same thing."

Brianna bit her lip. "Lizzie, do you really ever just try to distract yourself with work?"

She considered that. "I've gotten better at not doing that, but, yes, I do. I take it this has something to do with you and Ronnie?"

She stared at her for a moment, but then nodded. "Less so me and him and more so...well…"

Elizabeth sighed as Brianna gestured to her small curve. "Brie, I don't know what to tell you."

"I'm just nervous," She admitted tiredly. "I haven't slept well because of it, and because I've tried to just work in order to keep my mind off it but I'm three months pregnant now, just about, and I know, rationally, that I can't keep ignoring the fact that I'm going to be a mother forever."

"You look horrible," Cristal remarked as she stepped into the room, adjusting her glasses with one hand and holding her sleeping daughter in her sling with the other. "Did you try some quote un quote miracle caffeine pill that my brother jokes about going on in a few weeks?"

Brianna shook her head. "The opposite."

"Figures," Cristal said as Ozpin stepped into the room as well and wrapped an arm gently around her waist. "Whatever is bothering you, though, I'm sure is going to be fine."

Brianna considered that. "Was it with you? When your daughter was born?"

"It got better," Cristal said, albeit a bit hesitantly. "But I'm still worried for her, especially because she has magic."

"She's going to be fine, you and I are going to be fine," Ozpin promised her, giving her an affectionate squeeze. "Chrissy, I promise that I'm going to do everything I can to ensure that you and I don't lose each other, that our family will be alright."

"I can still barely comprehend the fact that magic is real," Brianna said, chewing a bit on the end of her pen. "Let alone the fact that your daughter has it."

"You'll get used to it," Elizabeth remarked a bit dryly, glancing to Ozpin. "Not that it'll take much."

Brianna stared at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean the more you're dealing with it, then less insane it's going to sound," She said, pausing upon Ronnie walking into the room. "Let me guess -"

"I'm not in the mood for some sort of snarky comment, Lizzie," Ronnie said, and she sighed. "I'm just not."

"Well what do you want me to do about that?" She replied. "Last time I checked -"

"Just don't," He said tiredly. "Aren't we supposed to be discussing this war we've all found ourselves caught up in?"

"Yes," She replied. "But it seems like we genuinely prefer to avoid the subject, at least after what happened with my daughter and Cas."

Ozpin sighed. "I still can't believe that the two of them managed to get into the vault in the first place."

"Cas had Emmeline's scroll, or at least it's data," Brianna reminded him. "It couldn't have been all that hard because of that."

"I agree," Elizabeth said, looking to Ronnie. "And you need to remember what we agreed -"

"I know," He said, as he adjusted his glasses. "I know, Lizzie, I know. I'm not going to do anything, it wouldn't be worth it nor would it be right."

Elizabeth nodded shortly but then started to pace, her heels clicking. "We got something interesting out of Watts regarding Cinder this morning."

Cristal stared at her in surprise. "What?"

"According to him, and I wouldn't necessarily call him a good source," Elizabeth said, caution lacing her voice. "She is hoping to get into all of our heads so that we act rashly and things simply...fall into place. Apparently she wants to figure Victoria into his as well, but -"

"Victoria's a stuck up bat to the same degree as Cordo," Maria remarked dryly, stepping into the room with a faint smirk. "And it wouldn't kill any of you to quiet down a little and lock doors."

Elizabeth groaned as her aunt slammed the door shut behind her with her cane. "What in god's name are you doing here?"

"I was looking for Dr. Ciel to discuss something to do with my eyes," Maria said, and Brianna sighed. "Don't worry too much, we can deal with this more later. What exactly is going on with Victoria?"

"Nothing proven," Ronnie said quickly, then turning to Elizabeth. "She doesn't have security clearance, let alone the -"

"I can more than hear you -" Maria all but sassed.

"This is a discussion involving sensitive information -" Ronnie countered.

"So then why is she here?" Maria replied, using her cane to gesture to Cristal. "Or Ozpin? This has something to do with your group, not with the Atlas Council."

Ronnie swore under his breath. "Damn it, she's right."

"Yes, I am," Maria said, hopping up onto one of the chairs and then comfortably sitting cross-legged with her cane in her lap. "So, what is it? Is she involved in something to do with Salem?"

"Not provably," Cristal said, an edge of stubborness in her voice. "My mother wouldn't be involved with it, she'd rather not know anything at this point than have to choose any side."

Maria scoffed. "Which proves nothing."

"After everything that my sister has done, do you really think she could persuade our mother to believe a damn word she says?" Cristal bit her lip as she went on. "She's not stupid. She can be cold, but she's a decent human being at her core."

"Chrissy's right," Ozpin said, giving his wife a reassuring squeeze. "And if we start fighting amongst ourselves, then we _will_ be giving Salem exactly what she wants."

"I think she more so wants your head," Brianna said as she stood up. "But, I suppose, that could be a way that she achieves that goal."

"I would be wary of Victoria," Maria said, and Elizabeth sighed. "I imagine you were only broaching the topic because of what must have come up in an investigation or inquiry, but she's always been manipulative. Be careful of that."

"I don't know what to think at this moment," Elizabeth said, sounding tiredly professional. "Because there is no evidence to corroborate the postulate."

"Should we open an investigation?" Ronnie asked her, an eyebrow raised. "Is that what you're suggesting?"

"If it comes to that," Elizabeth said, crossing her arms. "For now, the best thing we can do is to be cautious. If we're not careful, we'll probably end up in a similar situation to the one we were in right after the Fall Of Beacon...and that's a terrifying possibility."

* * *

"I love you so much..." Spencer smiled as he played with Karissa's azure curls. "Although, I'm not sure I'm getting over how much has happened since you and I got together."

Karissa laughed. "I don't think I am either. I'm glad your kids have been okay with having me around, though."

"That was never really a concern," Spencer said, and she rolled her eyes. "What? You know how they are."

"It's still a major change they're still young," She reminded him. "But they took it surprisingly well."

"I agree," Spencer said, curling into her and resting his head on her chest. "So, how's the Council been for you? Nothing too crazy?"

"That depends," She replied. "Does debate over whether or not Watts should be trusted count as crazy?"

Spencer looked at her in surprise. "That's even a question?"

She hesitated. "He offered cooperation, he has already started to give some...seeming answers to questions we've had for a long time but it has become up to question whether or not what he can say can be trusted because of, for one, his history but also because he has contradicted two of his...closest associates and that leaves the question open of who amongst them is lying."

"So with no one sure…" Spencer said quietly. "That leaves quite a bit in the balance."

"Exactly," Karissa said. "Which makes this situation worse than it already was."

He gently kissed her cheek. "I wish you didn't have to deal with all of this."

"It's alright," She said, pulling him a little closer. "I'm more concerned about you."

"Oh," He said, then sighing. "'Rissa, I -"

"I know you're trying," She said gently. "And you have made progress, I'm just worried about it destroying you before that."

"It…" Spencer shook a bit has he pushed himself up and then got out of their bed. "I can -"

"Spencer -" Karissa started, getting up herself and then following him out of their room. "What -"

He pulled the diamorphine and his needles out of the cabinet, then angrily throwing them into the trash after a moment of hesitation. "I hate myself so damn much...I.."

Karissa stepped over to him and pulled him into her arms. "You've tried that before, haven't you?"

"I've...fallen back too many times," He said, his voice breaking in spite of himself. "I don't want to, I hate it, and I don't want to hurt my kids or you, but…"

She was silent for a long moment but then shook her head. "Spencer, where do you think our relationship is going?"

He hesitated. "I…"

"Spencer -" She started a bit nervously.

"Rissa," Spencer said gently, taking her hands in his and dropping to a knee. "Will you marry me?"

She stared at him in shock. "Are you serious?"

Spencer bit his lip. "That wasn't the right time -"

"I love you, Spencer," She murmured, pressing a hand to his cheek. "But we're not ready for that, we're just not."

"Then what are we -" He started.

She dropped to her knees herself and cut him off with a soft kiss. "We need to take this slow, Spencer. I don't want us to -"

He wrapped his arms tightly around her. "I'm sorry."

"Daddy?" Natalie asked as she stepped into the room and saw him and Karissa with their arms tightly around each other. "What's going on?"

Spencer and Karissa immediately let go of each other, and he turned to look at his daughter.

"Are you alright, Nattie?" Spencer asked her, and she shook her head. "What is it? Something happen?"

"I thought I heard something," She said, hugging her bunny close to her chest. "Like a crash…"

Spencer's eyes went wide for a moment, but then he motioned his daughter to come over to where he and Karissa were on the floor.

"I just tripped into something, that's all," Spencer told her, and the nine year old nodded. "I'm alright, though. My aura protects me, remember?"

"It protects me, Matt, and Percy too," Natalie smiled. "I'm glad you helped us unlock them."

"You three need to learn to protect yourselves, but it's easier if you have aura," He said, affectionately ruffling her hair. "Do you feel better, now, Nattie?"

She nodded again and then looked to Karissa. "What colour is your aura?"

Karissa hesitated. "I...I don't know."

Natalie looked at her in confusion. "How do you not know? It's your aura!"

"I haven't unlocked my aura," Karissa finally said. "Not all of us are in the same position as you, Nat."

The young girl sent her a sympathetic look. "That sounds hard."

"Ronnie doesn't have his aura unlocked either," Spencer reminded her. "It's perfectly normal, and -"

"Uncle Ronnie's mean to you," Natalie said stubbornly. "He says you're a bad daddy when you're not, and that you've got a problem with needles."

Spencer and Karissa were silent, and he looked down at his hands after glancing at the crooks of his elbows.

"When did you hear any of that?" Spencer finally asked her. "Natalie, you're nine years old and you shouldn't -"

"He said it to aunt Emmeline the other day," Natalie said, looking confused. "I don't understand what he means. Since when do you like sewing?"

Spencer restrained himself from laughing at the notion. "Natalie -"

"Is uncle Ronnie still mad at you for no reason?" She asked him. "Is he still trying to convince people that you're not a good -"

"Natalie, he's got his own worries right now," Spencer told her, then standing up and helping Karissa up after. "After all, he and Brie are going to have a baby in October."

The young girl stared at her father for a moment, but then nodded. "Okay."

"Off to bed," He told her, and she all but skipped off down the hall. "Night, Nattie."

"Night, daddy," She said.

Spencer waited until they heard a door slam shut down the hall. Then, he turned to Karissa, running a hand through his shaggy dark hair.

"She's only -" He started.

"I know, and I don't blame you," Karissa said, looking at him in concern. "But, Spencer, are you sure you're alright?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm not."

She wrapped her arms tightly around him. "I wish I knew how to help."

"I know…" He murmured, bringing her closer. "And I'm sorry...none of this is fair to anyone."


	69. Chapter 69

_**May 4th  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
7:31 PM**_

"I have an explanation," Winter said, and Spencer raised an eyebrow. "For what's going on with your sister and why she hasn't been allowed to see anyone."

"All I'm saying is that I'm concerned about her," Spencer said. "Nicole's always been delicate, she's always been shy, she's got selective mutism -"

"And that doesn't change the fact that she's committed awful crimes," Qrow said, taking a sip from his flask despite the glares that Karissa, WInter, and Spencer all sent him. "What? She was involved in the attack on the City Of Vale, the damage to the Vytal Festival, and the Fall Of Beacon. You cannot tell me in your right minds that she's not guilty of -"

"That's not the point," WInter said, probing her forehead for a moment but then going on. "Look, the truth is that, like it or not, Nicole is probably going to be sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence, albeit in solitary confinement in good conditions because -"

"Because at the end of the day she's still the president's daughter, she's still General Ciel's sister," Spencer counted off, sounding a bit exasperated. "And, of course, she's the sister in law of Emmett Schnee, the sister in law of a respectable scientist, the sister of the head of the State Department."

"You sound bitter," Qrow noted, looking at him a bit in concern. "Something happen?"

Spencer sighed. "It's nothing."

"No, it's not," Karissa said, gently squeezing his shoulder. "Spencer, I know it's hard -"

"I've been nothing but irritable, a complete asshole -" He started.

"That's not true -" Karissa argued.

"I'm going to take a guess at what's going on and just not say it," Qrow paused for a moment but then went on. "Look, your sister isn't really your sister anymore. She's whoever the hell Neo is, and Neo clearly is a sadist that has a thirst for vengeance against someone."

"Cinder," Spencer mumbled, burying his face in his hands. "She blames Cinder for Roman Torchwick's death, and she wants to kill her because of it. Although, at this point, I imagine Cinder is used to people wanting to kill her."

Winter raised an eyebrow but then shook her head. "I imagine that's more than true. Madame Morell, for one -"

"Elizabeth doesn't want to kill Cinder, she wants to lock her in prison for the rest of eternity," Karissa told her, and Winter nodded despite her slight surprise. "Which she is more than justified in, considering what Cinder...did to her."

"I shouldn't hold onto what my family used to be, I really shouldn't," Spencer said, a tinge of regret mixed with the sadness in his voice. "Honestly, this all goes back to how I ended up handling my mother's death…"

"I have the same problem, although for a slightly different reason," Winter admitted, and looked to her in surprise. "With my parents marriage turning out in the way it did, or at least me finding out about it when I was almost an adult and while I was at Atlas Academy….It was rough, I'll admit that."

"What exactly happened?" Spencer asked her. "I know Nicholas and Victoria were never truly able to reconcile their differences and were too volatile, but -"

"My father only married my mother for her family name, fortune, and the company," Winter said, and Spencer's eyes went wide in shock. "And he told her in probably the worst way possible...which drove her slowly into alcoholism from which she's never really recovered."

"That's terrible," Spencer said, genuinely horrified. "How could he -"

"Because absolute power corrupts absolutely," Qrow said, and then sighed. "I know it wasn't really giving him absolute power, but Jacques has done some pretty horrible things over the years under the pretense of protecting the Schnee name and keeping the family...well, I think he described it as keeping the family 'where it is.'"

Spencer shook his head. "No wonder Emmett and Cristal despise him."

"Believe me, the whole family does," Winter said, then shaking her head. "And that includes my brother, Whitley, who he favoured more than the rest of us."

"He was probably just as trapped as the rest of you," Spencer said, then biting his lip. "I know Emmy felt that way for a long time because of our parents expectations of her as the eldest child. That and her overperformance during her time at Atlas Academy. Our mom was actually shocked when she and Emmett got married and decided to have Cas...although she was even more shocked when Emmy managed to continue to rise through military ranks and raise her daughter alone."

"I'm actually not surprised by that," Qrow admitted. "Considering just Emmeline in general...but I'm a bit surprised Ronnie wasn't more like that than her."

"He's just always been emotionally repressed," Spencer explained. "Hence most of the issues he has with Brianna."

Karissa rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty most of their issues come from them both being too damn stubborn to admit when they're wrong."

"That I agree with," Spencer said, sighing as she wrapped an arm around him. "To be honest, though, I don't always know where things are going in anything anymore."

"The feeling is mutual," Qrow said, and Winter sent him a sharp look. "Okay, Win, do you really think after all of the insane revelations we've had regarding people like Rosalinde Varna, possibly Victoria Schnee -"

"I know, I know," She said, a bit exasperated. "It's just -"

"A lot to take in, possibly too much?" Karissa suggested. "Because that's certainly within the realm of possibility."

Winter nodded. "To be honest, I can't help but be concerned about what it's going to be like for my child."

"I'm going to do everything I can to protect us," Qrow vowed, kissing her cheek. "You know I will."

"And imagine the strain you're feeling when you feel like you're dying and yet have three kids and…" Spencer swallowed hard. "And are afraid of hurting them and the woman you love."

"Apart from the three kids -" Qrow started.

"Just don't," Winter said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry," He said. "Look, things are getting better, at least to an extent. And you have Karissa -"

"I just don't want everything to go to hell," He said, looking to his partner worriedly. "You know that."

"I know," She said, squeezing his hand. "But, apart from what we're already doing, we can only hope for the best…"

* * *

Yang grinned as she passed the set of cards to Caitlin. "So, how are you liking this redux of truth or dare?"

"It removes the choice aspect," She said, her high voice shaking a bit as she pulled off a card. "But it's a bit thrilling. Although it might be a bit more interesting if we had a Ouija Board as part of this."

Ruby giggled. "I'm so glad you and Cas are have this week off as the Spring holidays. This is fun."

Cas punched Caitlin playfully in the arm. "So, what did you get?"

She winked although there was a faint bit of nerves in bright green eyes. "Truth."

"You're a musician," Ruby said, leaning a bit towards her and smirking. "And I know your music is progressive rock/metal but what's your favourite _pop_ song that's been a top hit?"

Caitlin hesitated but then sighed. "Hollaback Girl, Gwen Stefani."

Blake raised an eyebrow and forced herself not laugh. "Are you serious? That's tame."

"Hey!" Caitlin exclaimed. "At least I'm not into what Heather is!"

Heather Adel gasped in mock horror. "How dare you! I love the song Promiscuous, and also London Bridge -"

"Isn't that a kid's song?" Ruby looked at them in confusion as Caitlin, Cas, Heather, and Yang started laughing. "What?"

"Not the one she's talking about," Yang said. "She's talking about the Fergie song, you know, the one where she says -"

"My London bridge wants to come down, like London, London, London, wants to come down," Blake recited, restraining herself from laughing. "Does that make sense?"

Ruby cringed, pulling her hood down over her eyes. "Ew, ew, ew, ew…"

Cas pulled next, and then groaned. "Damn it, dare."

"I got one!" Yang declared. "Rap! You're going to rap a verse or two."

"Fine," Cas said, crossing her arms after sliding the pile of cards down to Blake. "I never fucked Wayne, I never fucked Drake, all my life man for fuck's sake. If I did I did a menage with them and let them eat my ass like a cupcake. My man's full, he just ate, I don't duck nobody but tape. Yeah, that was a set up for a punchline on duct tape."

Blake started laughing, followed by the rest of them.

"If I get dare," She said as she reached for the pile. "Then I don't think I can top that."

"Depends on what you mean by top it," Yang replied with a suggestive smile. "Because I'm pretty sure that there are a few ways…"

Blake turned pink, and her cat ears pressed into her head. "Oh…"

"What'd you get?" Heather asked, craning her neck to look. "Aww, damn it! She got truth. Caitlin, you're good at -"

"Alright," She said, slapping the ground. "Miss Belladonna, I've got a few questions for you -"

"Isn't the rule that you can only ask one -" She started in slight confusion.

"I'm in charge here, I make the rules," Caitlin replied in complete seriousness, sounding quite a bit like her mother. "First off, have you ever witnessed a violent crime aside from the Fall Of Beacon?"

Blake hesitated, and shared a nervous look with Weiss although the former heiress all but snorted.

"Yes," Blake admitted. "A surprising amount...but the worst was the one that changed Adam. He was working for the SDC at the age of seventeen, so a while back. Jacques was in charge of the company, and he was personally angry with Adam because he had tried to make him...well…"

Caitlin gave her a sympathetic look. "Go on…"

Blake sighed heavily. "Jacques branded and blinded him in one eye in a drunken fit of rage because Adam wouldn't do the one thing he'd asked him to as the oversight of a major Dust mine...well, more so a refinement rig, in the city of Lowell, up north on this coast. I was in the room at the time because I was working alongside Adam on that rig...and I was supposed to take his place but that was when we both left Atlas and decided to join the...then increasingly violent sect of the White Fang. I was thirteen at the time...and that's why he hates humans so much and why he always wears a mask."

"That's horrible," Cas said, and then she gagged upon seeing a photograph of him. "Oh, that's absolutely sick."

Caitlin grimaced. "In some circumstances, that could be a war crime but, in this circumstance and because the kingdom of Atlas wasn't fighting a civil war at the time since he _is_ Atlesian, that's considered at least a hate crime."

Weiss looked down at her hands. "I know my father's done some horrible things, but that wasn't -"

"Weiss, don't you dare," Blake said, forcing herself to remain calm. "As much as I hate Adam, as much pain and strife he's caused me over the years, you can't justify or write off your father's actions to just being drunk. In many ways, it makes it worse and shows his abusive nature -"

"Can we not talk about this?" She demanded. "I have no desire to think about the crimes that my family is culpable for -"

"My dad is not culpable for any of the things Jacques did, and neither am I, and neither is my mother," Cas snapped. "And neither is Cristal! Even Victoria isn't at fault for the things your father did, so don't pin this on the rest of us!"

"Stop refusing to take the blame for things your own family members have done -" Weiss retorted.

"If you'll stop pretending like the rest of us should take the fall for him -" Cas clenched her fists.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Weiss said a bit haughtily. "Aren't you usually the one who's trying to pin blame on other people? You never understand, you never listen, and you always blame people aren't you because it's easier."

"Shut up!" Cas shrieked, then standing up and storming out of the room.

Caitlin stared at her in concern for a moment before following her.

"Cas -" She started worriedly.

"She's right," Cas said, rubbing her arm. "But I'm never going to be able to admit it to her."

Caitlin awkwardly embraced her. "I have the same problem. It was part of what screwed over my relationship with Kyra in the end. Although, really, it was her turning her back on me for some slutty bitch she barely knew when I thought she was the one who had cared the most...turns out, she'd been pretending all along."

"You two alright?" Emmett asked as he stepped into the room, adjusting his glasses. "And is there something going on between you two that I should know about?"

Caitlin and Cas immediately split apart awkwardly.

"Aww…" Cristal said, bouncing her baby girl a little in her arms as she came into the room as well with Ozpin. "You two look suspicious."

"That's not…" Cas trailed off. "Nevermind."

Emmett raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you're hiding something."

Cas groaned and collapsed against the wall. "Why is our entire family so fucked up?"

"I can answer that -" Cristal started.

"Don't bring up some of things mommy said to us as kids," Emmett said, and she shrugged. "I mean, you have to admit, some of them were pretty weird."

"I know, she said that a pill or two could solve all your problems," Cristal said dismissively as she leaned a bit into Ozpin who had his arms tightly around her and their daughter. "And also that money had the same effect, and alcohol, and she used to complain about everything over a bottle of wine."

Ozpin sighed. "That sounds like her."

"Too accurate," Emmett said, then turning back to his daughter. "Honestly, Cas, I blame Jacques."

"Preach," Cristal said, then raising an eyebrow but deciding to let it rest when Caitlin sat down against the wall with Cas and hesitantly took her hand. "And I think we can all safely blame him."

"Yeah, and after a truly disgusting story that I never want to hear again, I believe that with even more fervour," Caitlin remarked. "Apparently he branded one of the craziest, currently most wanted people, in the kingdom of Atlas over an eye in a drunken rage."

Cristal flinched at the thought. "You're kidding."

"Not in the slightest," Cas mumbled. "It really does capture just how messed up everything is."

"That doesn't happen anymore," Emmett gently reminded her. "Chrissy and I aren't like that -"

"I know," Cas said weakly. "It just makes us all look horrible, and with some of the things he said to mommy over the years -"

"It's okay, Cas," Emmett told her. "I promise."

"Debatable," Caitlin interjected. "The Relic Of Knowledge begged to differ."

Cristal sighed. "At least we know better than to trust Varna."

"That was relatively apparent," Ozpin said, and she shrugged. "I wouldn't have necessarily done anything so soon without confirmation, but it's a good thing we knew."

"Well, I'm glad no one is condemning us," Caitlin said, then shrugging. "You know what I mean?"

Emmett nodded. "I know, and we would have protected you."

"Of course we would have," Cristal exclaimed. "None of us would let them be put in danger."

"Not that this world agrees with that goal," Cas said darkly. "Considering that..well…"

"Every heart's not filled with love for mankind," Caitlin said, and Cas nodded. "If you look around, it's getting pretty hard to find, especially when we consider the fact that not every open wound is healed by time. And since the future's looking bleak...it's possible that the storm is set to rise."

"We've been making progress -" Ozpin started.

"To an extent," Caitlin said. "But that doesn't mean that things aren't at risk."

Cas glanced at her hands but then nodded. "It's a lot to take in."

"No kidding," Cristal remarked, then shaking her hand. "It's hard to even comprehend sometimes."

"I just wish we knew what to do," Emmett said, rubbing his neck. "And it's troubling."

"We're doing everything we can," Ozpin said, giving his wife a gentle squeeze. So far, it is looking bad but it's -"

"How knows where we're going to end up…" Cas said quietly. "I'm not so sure anymore…"

"It's going to be alright -" Cristal started.

"I hope so," Cas said, burying her face in her hands. "Otherwise we're all damned."

* * *

"I want to be released," Nicole Ciel said, looking down at her hands and swallowing hard and hating the sick feeling she got every time that she spoke. "I…"

"Nicole," Edward said slowly. "I don't have the power to do that."

She scowled.

"Nicole, I am not going to use my position to pardon you," Edward said, and her face fell. "It's not right, and it's not in my position to do so."

She shook her head sadly as he stood up and began to step out of the room. "Then I guess this...I guess family isn't family…"

Ciel paused for a moment as the door slammed behind him, taking in his youngest daughter's words.

"What did she want?" Emmeline asked as stepped out of the elevator. "I know you were talking to Nicole, don't try to deny it."

Ciel sighed. "Emmeline -"

"Look," She said as they began to walk down the hall towards his office on the seventh floor of one of the executive buildings that were part of the complex that made up the Council. "If she's here and not in solitary confinement in prison where she's been detained, then clearly she made some sort of demand. I think I speak for everyone in the family when I say I'm done with you evading our questions."

"There are some things that I'd prefer not to discuss," Ciel said with finality. "Can and do you understand that?"

Emmeline raised an eyebrow. "This doesn't have to do with Nicole, does it?"

"Whatever I discuss with your sister is highly traced _and_ monitored and goes immediately on the records in the Council's system," Ciel reminded her, and she bristled a bit at the condescension. "In that matter, you are correct that it has nothing to do with Nicole. I'm sure in an hour or two you'll be able to use your clearance to look into my conversation with your sister and -"

"Then what the hell have you been so evasive about?" Emmeline snapped. "Ronnie's still going on about one hunch that I actually have shared with him for a while now. Spencer thinks we might be right too, but he -"

"What are you talking about?" He asked her, sounding both exasperated and exhausted. "Emmeline Cecilia Ciel, I -"

"You've been dating someone," She said bluntly, and his brown eyes went wide in shock. "Is that a confirmation?"

Ciel hesitated, and he did not speak until after he had shut the door to his office behind them.

"Yes," He finally said. "But you of all people should understand why I've been hesitant to say anything ."

Emmeline scoffed. "Yes, because -"

"I don't how you figured it out, let alone your brothers," Ciel said as he set his bowler hat down on his desk and began to pace while his daughter tapped her foot impatiently. "But you're completely correct."

"Alright," She said, resisting the urge to be arrogant. "Who exactly are you involved with?"

Ciel was silent for a long moment, but then sighed. "Victoria Schnee."

Emmeline stared at him for a moment, completely stunned. "What?"

"I take it that wasn't one of your assumptions?" Ciel said. "I know I should have said something, I just didn't quite know how. If it's any consolation, I'm sure Emmett's going to be -"

"I can practically hear his snapping on the subject already," Emmeline said, crossing her arms. "And, to set the record straight, that was my primary guess although I was seriously hoping that it was wrong."

Ciel looked at her in surprise. "How come?"

"Apart from the fact that you're dating my, for all intents and purposes, estranged mother in law?" Emmeline said in exasperation. "She's probably compromised by her second eldest child, Ashlynn...or, to be more accurate, Cinder Fall."

Ciel took in a sharp breath. "Compromised how?"

"Oh, I don't know," Emmeline said irritably. "Perhaps in the sense that the only reason that it would make plausible sense for her to come back into the kingdom for the sake of persuading her mother to take her side and work with her, Watts, and Salem."

Ciel paled a bit. "You're joking."

"And that didn't occur to you?" She bit off. "Come on, dad, you're better than that."

"Emmeline, Victoria and I have already discussed the issue of Ashlynn and she -" Edward started tiredly.

"She what?" Emmeline questioned. "Is -"

"Let me finish," Ciel said with remarkable calm. "You're right that Ashlynn only came back into the kingdom to try and influence her mother but she's already tried. Victoria all but told her to go to hell, and she's out there somewhere -"

"Because Victoria couldn't take her daughter, slap an aura cuff on her wrist or knock her unconscious or something so that she could be taken into our custody?" Emmeline shook her head. "The fact that she's still out there because Victoria couldn't do what she needed to -"

"Do you really think that if -" Ciel cut across.

"No, I don't know if I could," Emmeline admitted. "But I know that regardless of the circumstances that Victoria is still partially culpable for Ashlynn escaping into the kingdom when she's one of the most dangerous, wanted -"

"President Ciel?" Elizabeth paused as she buzzed into the room and both Emmeline and her father turned to look at her. "Alright, I can -"

"No, Madame Morell, you are perfectly fine," Edward said, motioning her in and she awkwardly adjusted the file in her hands. "I take it that's the updated file on Watts?"

"Actually, it's proposals from the legislature for open hearings," She said, setting the file down and then glancing to Emmeline. "They want to expand the government's budget so that they can pull in people involved directly with Watts, Merlot, and Gele into open hearings. That and to allocate more to defense spending."

Ciel nodded. "I'll quickly authorise that."

"Domestic or external defense spending?" Emmeline questioned, looking to Elizabeth. "Or is it both?"

"Primarily domestic, although a bit external in places including but not limited Argus, Vale, Patch, and a few points of interest in Vacuo," Elizabeth replied, and Emmeline nodded. "A lot of it is going towards funding investigations into matters relating to some of the most wanted criminals in the kingdom."

"Makes sense," Emmeline said, then looking to her father. "But I don't think that, no matter how much we spend, that we can be truly sure of our safety...not anymore."


	70. Chapter 70

_**May 17th  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
9:56 PM**_

"Hi, Ari," Cas said, tickling her baby sister's feet and then turning to her other baby sister. "Hey Ella."

The two baby girls stared at their sister in slight confusion as she continued to play with them.

"You two are cute," Cas told them, and Ariel giggled upon grabbing her sister's finger. "Yeah, yeah, you two are only a week old and you're both really tiny, but you're cute."

"Glad you decided to stay awake," Emmett remarked, sipping his unholy cup of coffee. "Your mother's already asleep."

"That's okay," Cas said, laying down next to Briella who started to tug at her hair. "See? I'm not sleepy at all, and if they want to play then they can play."

Emmett smiled. "You do know they were only born on the tenth, right?"

Cas shrugged. "They're still adorable and sweet."

"I know," Emmett said, sitting down on the floor and taking Briella into his arms. "Hi, Ella. Mommy's asleep, but Cas and I are still awake."

The girl looked at her father in confusion, her pale blue eyes wide.

"So, you weren't joking about taking pills to keep you awake," Cristal remarked with half a smirk, stepping into the room with a hand on her hip. "You know that Courtney's been asleep for awhile, right?"

"Your baby sleeps like she should," Emmett retorted, although he was smirking as well. "And why would you expect a child of mine and Emmy's to sleep well anyways? Cas doesn't, and she's almost an adult."

Cas winked. "That's me."

Cristal shook her head. "You're going to crash in a week or two if you try to keep going like this."

"Emmy's the one who has to actually go into work more often," Emmett reminded her, and she sighed. "You and I can work from home most days or call into meetings if we have absolutely no other way of dealing with matters at home."

"Yes, but, even with that, no one can function well on four or five hours of sleep," Cristal replied. "I know that you feel like you have to do this, but you don't. You're going to push yourself too far."

"I say things like that to you all the time, and you slap me," Emmett scowled at her for a moment. "Or you give me some sort of snarky comment -"

"Because I can more than handle myself -" She started.

"Case in point," Emmett said, still cradling one of his baby girls in his arms while she slowly fell asleep. "Besides, I'm not being that bad about sleeping."

Cristal considered that for a moment but then looked to Cas. "If you ever have kids, don't be like your dad. It won't end well, I promise."

Cas stifled back a giggle. "I'm not even dating anyone right now, let alone thinking about that."

"You're still a teenager, you shouldn't be," Emmett said, and she nodded. "Believe me, you're better off waiting until your life is stable."

"Or as stable as it can be," Cristal said a bit tiredly as she sat down on the edge of the couch. "To be perfectly honest, I don't think stable counts as a guarantee for any of us."

Cas bit her lip. "Well, who knows what the world will look like in five or ten years?"

Cristal hesitated. "I suppose, if you and Caitlin hadn't used all the questions, that we could always ask the Relic."

"Don't make me feel guilty," Cas said as she lifted up Ariel into her arms who was giggling and started to tug at her sister's long, dark hair. "I know there's a lot we could have and maybe even should have asked but I can't change the fact that we didn't. We had our reasons for asking what we did, just like you have your reasons for wanting to ask what you would have."

Cristal was silent for a long moment as she nervously adjusted her glasses. "I didn't mean it quite like that, Cas -"

"Yes, you did," She said almost tonelessly as she handed her other sister to her father, although it was clear that there was something beneath the surface that was eating away at her. "I'm going to shower and then go to sleep."

Cristal stared at her for a moment but then shook her head. "I shouldn't have said that."

"Don't be too hard on yourself," Emmett said as he stood up with both of his newborn daughters tightly in his arms. "She's got her own problems too, not everything is your fault."

She bit her lip as he stepped out of the room to put both babies down for the night. "Sometimes I'm not quite so sure about that…"

"Chrissy?" Ozpin looked at her in concern as he came into the room. "Are you alright?"

She sighed. "That depends on your definition of alright."

He quickly came over to her and took her hands in his. "What is it?"

"I don't even know," She said softly. "I might just be stressed, or maybe it's something else. At this point, it could be any number of things. Work, our family, all of the issues with politics, Cinder, Watts, Neo...Salem."

Ozpin wrapped his arms tightly around her. "I'm not going to let anything happen because of her, you know that."

"And this is still war," She reminded him, her voice breaking slightly against her will. "Not everyone is going to make it out alive...technically, Emmett and I didn't."

Ozpin bit his lip. "Chrissy -"

"She's more dangerous than you want to give her credit for being," She said quietly. "You want to view her as more human than she is, and she's just not like that anymore. She's more dangerous than probably any of us know, and we're all going to be damned if we underestimate her."

"She can be defeated," Ozpin swore, holding her as close as he could. "I promise that, Chrissy, and I mean it."

She hesitated, tears falling against her will. "But how many lives is it going to take before we manage to defeat her? How many more people are going to have to die for this? My brother and I already did, we shouldn't be here and yet we are...I don't even know what this world is or where it's going anymore…"

"None of us do," Ozpin said, rubbing her back. "But it's going to be alright. I don't want anyone else to have to suffer or die because of this easier. It's not worth it, and it's not right."

"War doesn't give a damn…" She countered, her voice weak. "And that's why, in the end, we just don't know where this is going to end up...the only people that give a damn are ourselves, and that's a dangerous precedent to set…"

* * *

"Turns out we were right," Ronnie said, and Brianna sighed. "About my father and Victoria."

"Of course," She said, unable to hide her annoyance at the notion. "Does that compromise him?"

"Emmeline already accused him of that," Ronnie told her. "And he said that Victoria denies having any association with Ashlynn apart from one interaction in which she threatened her to try and convince her to join their cause. Victoria swears she rebuked her, but now dad's not sure if he believes her. Apparently his eldest snapping at him that he's 'better than that' is enough to make him reconsider everything. Especially since their quote un quote small talk ended in him realising that, because of some of her actions, Victoria is partially culpable for Ashlynn being able to escape back to wherever she wants all but undetected."

"Bitch," Brianna muttered. "Of course Victoria would do whatever it takes to attempt to please both sides. She does know that, under a few circumstances, that what she did could be considered a serious crime?"

"I imagine she does, but these circumstances don't add up enough evidence for her to be convicted of aiding and abetting one of the most wanted people in the kingdom," Ronnie shook his head. "And that's not even me saying that, those are Karissa's words."

Brianna shook her head. "I'm not going to argue with Karissa, she's too often right. Now, of course, as the head of the DFAMA, that makes sense."

"For the topics we're discussing?" Ronnie asked, and she nodded. "Yeah, that's fair."

"Victoria is entirely suspect, and I wouldn't recommend trusting her to anyone," Brianna remarked with an edge of irritation in her voice as she stepped over to the mirror and began to brush through her hair. "Particularly not to your father, but I wouldn't even recommend that her own children trust her. Her machinations, in large part, are why she and Nicholas divorced years ago. Now, of course, Nicholas isn't here anymore but, if he was, I imagine that he wouldn't be eager to trust her either. Everyone claims that Jacques is the sole reason that the SDC went into some shady ethics, but if Victoria hadn't been guiding him…"

"I know," Ronnie said, placing a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezing it. "And she was behind more than a few of the worst things the company managed to cover up for years. In many ways, she deserves to be in prison just as much as Jacques."

"She plays both sides well," Brianna said dryly. "Or, at least, well enough to keep her out of legal trouble."

"It certainly has served her well," Ronnie said, shaking his head as he pushed up his glasses. "There's been quite a few fingers pointing her way, but never enough evidence for a conviction. What I want to know, though, is how she got my father wrapped around her finger."

"A mystery that will remain to all of us," Brianna said, reaching for a hair tie and pulling her hair up into a high ponytail before she began to twist it around itself into a bun. "Until, of course, she gets cocky and leaves a trace of something that is damning to her."

Ronnie sighed. "I don't think that's going to happen any time soon."

"I don't either," Brianna admitted. "It would be nice, though."

"She certainly should pay for her crimes like anybody else," Ronnie agreed. "But whether or not she will is still up in the air."

"Because, again, she is incredibly good at being manipulative," Brianna remarked as she tied off her bun. "She's had everything handed to her for years, and she'll do, as she's proven, literally anything to remain in that position."

"No kidding," Ronnie said, wrapping his arms loosely around her waist as she turned around and pulling her into him. "Didn't she run a woman over one time because she would have talked about something and the accident was enough to convince her not to?"

Brianna sighed. "What amused me the most about that was the fact that Victoria was able to make it seem like it hadn't been intentional."

"Because running a woman over isn't intentional," Ronnie said, and she rolled her eyes. "Sarcasm, Brie."

"I know," She said, letting him embrace her tightly for a moment before starting to pace. "I'm just not quite in the mood."

He looked at her in concern. "That's uncommon."

"Don't try and be funny," She said, sending him a sharp look. "I'm exhausted and I have a lot on my mind."

"Brie -" Ronnie started.

"If you think that I don't have enough to think about with work, with a few of the new lawsuits that cropped up regarding the PENNY Project, regarding…" Brianna tried to force herself to relax even as she crossed her arms. "Well, frankly, regarding our child."

"It's fine, Brie," Ronnie said as patiently as he could. "You're probably just being stressed by the hormones -"

"Don't you even dare -" She snapped.

"Brie -" Ronnie tried again.

"You don't understand!" She exclaimed in exasperation. "You're not going to understand what I'm feeling until after it's born, and you and I might be damned to hell by then! What if one of these new lawsuits sends me to prison? What if Salem gets her way and the world ends in fire and brimstone before this year is out? What if -"

"Brie," Ronnie snapped, startling her slightly. "That's not going to happen."

"So we'll sell ourselves out to protect ourselves from her?" Brianna challenged. "Really, doing exactly what we condemn people like Victoria for doing?"

Ronnie shook his head. "We can't control what happens with Salem or the war, but I doubt it's going to touch us anytime soon if at all no matter how much we know. But, with the lawsuits regarding the PENNY Project, I can get you out of those if they get too close to you -"

"Ronnie, do you have any idea how unethical that is?" She all but collapsed on the edge of their bed, burying her face in her hands. "You've already done that more than once, and that kind of bribery is a federal crime! We're talking about both of us getting sent to prison because you tried to protect me from being sent to prison because of ethics and human rights violations!"

"You only proposed and analysed the project," Ronnie reminded her as gently as he could. "You weren't involved with anything that was illegal, you -"

"Facilitated it," She said quietly. "You can't do this, Ronnie, you just can't. It's an abuse of power, and you can't keep abusing your power and family name for me. Do you have any idea how this is going to look to our child?"

He was silent for a long moment. "I hadn't thought about it that way."

"Just promise me that you won't do it," She said weakly, even as he wrapped an arm around her. "Please, Ronnie."

He sighed heavily. "Alright, Brie, alright." He eventually said, although he fully intended to do whatever it took to protect her and their child, even if it meant to abuse his position a second time to keep her out of prison for something that wasn't her fault, something that she was not culpable for.

* * *

"There's something you might want to know," Winter said as she sipped her tea. "About our child."

Qrow raised an eyebrow, concern rising in him. "What is it, Win?"

"I found out the sex today," She told him. "I wanted desperately to know, but I don't have to tell you if you don't want to know."

He smiled as he sat down on the couch next to her. "Come on, Win, of course I want to know."

She nodded. "Alright. We're having a daughter."

He stared at her for a moment but then pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "So, we are going to have a little Raquelle Daphne Branwen-Schnee?"

Winter rolled her eyes. "Did you mishear me or something? Yes, we're having a little girl."

"Well, I'm sure she's going to be just as beautiful as her mother," Qrow whispered, and a faint blush rose in her cheeks. "You know I mean that, Win."

"That's why it's a bit embarrassing," She said although she was smiling. "Because I know that you're not exaggerating what you think."

"Believe me, I'm not going to do that to you," He said, cupping her cheek. "You know how I feel about you, and you know I'm happy about this."

"You're not scared anymore?" She asked him, and he hesitated. "Your semblance or the war?"

"Both, although more so what the war could do to all of this," He admitted. "I'm always going to be worried about my semblance, but this war...well, what if it takes one of us? What if it takes someone we're close to? With Cinder sort of just running free and the kingdoms struggling to deal with internal and external issues…"

"I know, Salem's corrupting everything," Winter shook her head. "And who knows what she might be planning."

"Caitlin Morell and Cas Ciel," Qrow said, and Winter sighed. "They outright admitted that they didn't tell us everything that they learned from the Relic, what if they're keeping something important from us?"

"At this point, we're going to have to hope that that isn't the case," Winter said, then biting her lip. "I don't believe that they would do that, but they might be scared by what they know. Or, conversely, they only know a bit more and they don't want to risk changing the future."

Qrow nodded. "I guess that makes sense, especially with what Caitlin said the other day to Ruby and the rest of the team on the subject."

Winter considered that for a moment, but then nodded. "Well, she couldn't have been much more blunt."

"I can't remember what she was quoting, though," Qrow said, rubbing his neck. "Some book she and Elizabeth both like, though."

"It was _1984_ , George Orwell," Winter said, then shaking her head. "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past."

Qrow grimaced. "People like the Morells and Ciels are, in many ways, more dangerous than even some of the most thoroughly trained huntsmen and huntresses like us because of how much they know and understand the nuances of our world and politics."

"Power is a factor too," Winter hesitated as she went on. "My family is in the same position as them, although more so in business than politics...although my uncle is married to General Ciel so that, I suppose, does give us a bit of political power."

"And if what Emmeline said about your grandmother dating her father is true…" Qrow said slowly. "It's dangerous. Especially since Victoria's always been slippery."

"The worst part about our kingdom, and even I have to admit this, is that our leaders have no genuine interest in dealing with corruption unless it suits them," Winter laughed dryly for a moment before going on. "We declared a quote un quote war on violence and terror after what happened to Emmett and Cristal...before Ozpin...well…"

Qrow sighed. "It's a complicated situation that we don't have a simple solution to."

"The problem with how we've handled things is that we've ignored the flaws in our own system which has led to us growing more and more polarised with corruption still being an issue," Winter said, sighing heavily as she continued. "And, so while we call ourselves free, we still do horrible things to people who we think have committed crimes when they're not citizens or allies and people end up taking the fall for things that they shouldn't. Because of that, people who have committed crimes in this country and are in favourable positions can never see a day in court when others, even within this country, are forced to spend weeks or even months in court because even the court system is corrupted by prejudice."

Qrow nodded, and then gave her a gentle squeeze. "We're not at risk, though."

"That doesn't make some of the things that the kingdom's done right," Winter countered. "Now, of course, Atlas is far less culpable for gross human and faunus rights atrocities than some of the other major kingdoms and even more so than the minor kingdoms, but that doesn't mean we can deny what we've done."

"I know," Qrow said, sighing. "But things are getting better. The legislature has demanded more laws to prevent corruption or limit what already exists, human and faunus rights groups have gone out of their way to make life miserable for some of the most corrupt in the system - including your father -"

"Who more than deserved it -" Winter started, anger towards her father rising in her voice.

"I completely agree," Qrow said, kissing her cheek. "You see my point, though, right? That things are improving within the kingdom?"

"Not fast enough," Winter said shaking her head. "I might have unrealistic expectations, admittedly, but if we continue to grow more and more divided, then we'll be playing directly into Salem's hand."

"That's a terrifying thought," Qrow said, shaking his head. "But we're doing what we can. We won't play into her hand, we're better than that."

Winter sighed heavily as she leaned into him. "That's our hope, isn't it? That we are better than what the worst in all of us is."


	71. Chapter 71

_**May 30th  
Atlas Academy  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
2:45 PM**_

"I'm not quite sure if you four should go on a mission…" Spencer said, looking over Team RWBY's request for a mission. "At least right now that we can't ensure that another...incident won't occur. After what happened with Miss Xiao Long getting shot in the foot and Miss Schnee being shot in the rib -"

"Professor Ciel, you can't be serious," Ruby said, rubbing her arm. "We're third year huntresses! We're, well...I'm seventeen but my teammates are nineteen!"

Spencer sighed. "And the rest of the faculty is divided on whether or not to allow you to go on a mission. You four are aware of the increasingly contentious political situation in this kingdom, right? Miss Schnee I'm sure does, but -"

"Professor Ciel, we're going to get bored and crazy if we're cooped up here!" Yang groaned. "If we're staying within the kingdom -"

"Your last mission was to what was, at the time, thought to be a relatively low-risk area, albeit with quite a bit of grimm to clear," Spencer sharply reminded them. "Give me a single, logical reason why I should let the four of you go on a mission until things are more stable when half of my colleagues have already shut the idea down?"

Blake bit her lip. "Professor Ciel, really, you have the deciding say in all of this, and we need you to approve us to go on a mission so that we can continue in our studies as huntresses with practical skills that we've gained from being in the field."

Spencer hesitated, probing his forehead. "I understand the value of that, but at the moment you four would be safer and, frankly, more competent if you were to do field work in Vale, so within the capital city there."

"What about Beacon?" Yang asked him. "Could we do a mission there?"

"The answer to that is probably going to be no," Spencer told her. "Considering that they're trying to finish up the final repairs to the Academy so that it can be reopened in March when term starts for next year. As I said, you could go to the capital city and I would be willing to approve the notion of the four of you taking a mission in August, as you've filed for, if it were there. But not to the parts of Atlas you've denoted an interest in. If you're willing to retract those as your top choices and put the City Of Vale and Argus at the top of the list, then I'll approve it."

Ruby glanced to her teammates. "I think this is the best option we have."

"Professor Ciel, you know we'd be careful -" Weiss started.

"Miss Schnee, we cannot risk the four of you getting brutally murdered again," Spencer said, sending her a pointed look. "And, like I said, with the political situation so contentious here, it's not safe for most teams to be running around the kingdom. Fully trained huntsmen and huntresses, sure, but you four are not fully trained. You're still teenagers, you're still trying to figure it out, and you don't have the skill set to handle some of the dangers within this kingdom. You were born and raised here, you should know that."

"Of course I know that!" Weiss exclaimed, unable to hide her irritation in her voice. "But you can't be serious!"

"I am completely serious," Spencer said calmly, looking to all of them. "The four of you are good kids, and I know you want to do right by the world but you have to recognise your own limitations. I'll approve you going on a mission, but not within Atlas. We have Cinder Fall running around, we have quite a few people recently indicted by the Council that are being tracked down, and we cannot afford to take risks like this at the moment. No matter how much the four of you have been through, none of you are fully trained yet and that is something none of you should forget."

A heavy silence passed amongst them.

"I don't want to tell the four of you no," Spencer said slowly. "But I will if that is necessary to ensure that the four of you don't do something reckless, or stupid, or that you simply aren't ready for."

Ruby hesitated. "Professor Ciel, are you sure -"

"Yes, Miss Rose, I am completely sure in my decision," He said, and they all stared at him. "What are you going to do?"

They hesitated, sharing nervous glances before Blake took the paperwork from him and then took a rather thick, dark marker off his desk. SIghing heavily, she finally forced herself to blot out their choices for within Atlas, setting the City Of Vale, as Spencer had suggested, as their top choice, followed by Argus.

"Here," She said, capping the marker and setting it down before shoving the paperwork back towards him. "Will you sign it off now?"

Spencer nodded, and then did so. "I told you I would."

Weiss crossed her arms. "I don't know how I feel about this."

"It's better than nothing," Ruby reminded her. "Really, it is -"

"Spencer, I need to -" Brianna Ciel paused upon noticing Team RWBY. "What exactly am I interrupting? What have you four done?"

"Nothing, I'm just approving them to go on a mission in August," Spencer said, passing Blake the paperwork once more and then motioning for them to leave the room. He was silent for a long moment, and did not speak until Yang had all but slammed the door behind her. "Alright, Brie, what's going on with you?"

She hesitantly sat down in front of his desk, fiddling with the straps of her purse. "You heard about the lawsuits that were recently brought up against me and the others working on the PENNY Project, right?"

Spencer raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Yes, I heard, but what has that got to do with anything? You might have to appear in court, but I doubt that you of all people will spend so much as a day in jail."

Brianna stared down at her perfectly done nails, feeling slightly dejected. "Well, with my clearance I'm able to see at least the existence of pretty much every document in the Council's systems, and the indictment documents, the lawsuits that had anything to do with me...they were either revised to have me written out or didn't exist at all even though they existed two weeks ago."

Spencer swore under his breath. "Ronnie did something, there's no other explanation for how that could happen."

"I know," Brianna said dejectedly. "I just don't know what to say to him about it…"

"Well, it's a difficult situation to be sure," Spencer said, then shaking his head. "I don't know what to tell you, Brie, I just don't. Do whatever you think is the right, ethical way to handle this, but remember that it's more than just that because Ronnie's not just the head of the State Department, but your husband. Just keep in mind that there's more than one facet to this...no matter how much trouble him pulling something like that could cause."

* * *

"Ronnie," Elizabeth said, her arms crossed and her heels clicking as she paced around the room about half an hour before the security council was set to meet. "What the hell happened to all of those files, and why was hard drive they were on wiped?"

He hesitated. "What exactly are you talking about, Lizzie?"

"Don't play around with pretense," Elizabeth told him sharply. "The hard drive with indictments towards Brianna were all wiped or altered, and there wasn't a damn fingerprint or sliver of camera footage to be gleaned. You either did something yourself, or you had people do something."

Ronnie stared at her. "Lizzie, really -"

"I'm not going to throw you in prison or bring up charges," Elizabeth informed him, pulling out her scroll and showing him the status of the room. "I've even turned off all video and audio surveillance and no one has the override capacity over me for that a hour before and an hour after security council meetings.'

"You're going to think badly of me," He warned her. "Even though -"

"Ronnie, if this is your way of saying that you did in fact go out of your way to protect your wife, then I will remind you that as much as I condemn you for doing such, I'm not going to have anyone bring charges against the two of you," Elizabeth shook her head. "I damn well should, but I won't because, at the end of the day, it's not worth it and it's going to hurt both of you when I know that, for one, Brianna is not the one that should be the focus of prosecution, and, for another, that the two of you are going to have family to care for."

Ronnie nodded weakly. "I cannot thank you enough -"

"Just don't," She said, pausing and sending him a sharp look. "Ronnie, I protected you the first time even though I was pissed beyond belief when I figured it out, and I'll protect you again. But I cannot protect you forever. There's only so much any of us can do to keep things like this silent. What you did, regardless of your good intentions, is still a federal crime, and any court in this country would treat it as such, no jury would be strongly in your favour because of your status, position, and wealth. You are risking so much, and I hope you're aware of it."

He sighed heavily. "I couldn't risk something happening to her."

"And I admire you for that," Elizabeth said as gently as she could. "But that doesn't negate the legal and, frankly, ethical dilemma. Brie doesn't _know_ , does she?"

Ronnie bit his lip. "I told her that I wouldn't intervene, but I had to. I don't think she knows, and my hope is that she'll just assume that the charges were dropped by normal procedure because quite a few of her colleagues committed far more serious, dangerous crimes."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "She's going to figure it out, Ronnie, half her job is to deal with ethical dilemmas and crimes, the other half relating to science."

"I know that," Ronnie snapped, then forcing himself to be as calm as he could be after a moment. "But do you really think I was going to let her be sent to jail over charges that were -"

"They were not exaggerated," Elizabeth reminded him. "Which I think is going to be what bothers Brie most. She didn't and still doesn't want to risk going to prison, especially with the fact that she's pregnant, but she's incredibly hard on everyone about ethics and following the law, and that includes herself. This is going to eat at her just as much, if not more so, than actually going to prison would if she was not acquitted in court which, if she had ever appeared for any of the crimes she's been charged with, I think would have been the most likely outcome."

Ronnie took that in for a moment. "I couldn't lose her."

"You're a good person, at your core, Ronnie, no matter how much you piss me or anyone else off," She said, giving him a sympathetic look. "But you go about things the wrong way because you can't stand things not being done. You take everything as right or wrong, yet you have no trouble hanging around in moral grey area. You're going to get yourself in trouble if you keep going like this forever, you know."

"I did what I thought was right -" He protested.

"And while I admire that, it's still illegal," Elizabeth sighed heavily. "Perhaps this bothers me because no one ever did something like this when I was brought to the stand for things I did under duress from Cinder, or maybe it's because I've hardened over the years….I don't know. All I know is that I don't want you damn yourself over something small. With all you've done to protect Brie over the last two years...do you have even the faintest idea how many federal crimes you've committed?"

Ronnie swallowed hard. "I know I've abused my power and my position -"

"I'm a damn hypocrite for not telling you to resign, but I can't bring myself to because of your reasons," Elizabeth's nails tapped against the table as she continued to speak. "Honestly, though, I don't know what to tell you, Ronnie."

"I don't know what to do," He said quietly. "Or if I'm in the right or the wrong anymore."

A long silence passed between them before sharp raps were heard against the door.

"Elizabeth, I know you're in there!" Maria declared through door. "You and I need to talk about something, don't worry, I won't hold you too long."

Elizabeth groaned but let her aunt in nonetheless. "Aunt Maria -"

"Did you hear what Terra Cotta-Arc found in Mistral while doing her engineering work for the Atlas Council?" Maria asked her, and Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "I was both fascinated and horrified when I heard about this first hand a few days ago. It relates to Victoria Schnee."

"What happened?" Ronnie questioned. "Was she with anyone?"

"Cinder Fall," Maria informed them, and Elizabeth flinched a bit against her will. "They're hiding out in and around Argus."

"You've got to be kidding…" Elizabeth muttered, paling slightly. "After all this time we've spent looking for her in the kingdom the last few weeks, and she's slipped through our fingers once again."

"Apparently, Terra and her wife followed them for a little one night and intended to try and capture them but decided against acting because it occurred to them that they'd need aura cuffs to handle the two of them," Maria laughed a bit as she went on. "I was damn impressed by them, although I was a bit surprised by Victoria Schnee having anything to do with her crazy, power hungry child."

Ronnie glanced to Elizabeth. "My father's going to be in a horrible state when he finds out."

"No kidding," She remarked, then looking back to her aunt. "Did either of the Cotta-Arc women say why Cinder and Victoria were there."

"The best they could gather, it was Cinder's final and most successful attempt to convince her mother to join 'her order'," Maria scoffed. "It sounds like complete bullshit, of course, but their association is a dangerous one."

"So," Ronnie said, looking to Elizabeth again. "What do we do now?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Well…" She eventually said. "I say we continue, albeit hesitantly, in this dangerous game that we're playing and hope that none of this goes to hell."

* * *

"Oh, fuck it all," Allison said, causing Cristal to half smile in amusement. "We finally have a lead on her, why not squander it and hold the defenses?"

"I don't do work for the Council," She reminded her, sighing heavily as she glanced out the window of her office. "Blake, on the other hand, does. Why don't you ask him?"

"That's the thing," Allison said. "He doesn't quite understand how this happened either. He was shocked when he found out about it yesterday, although I'm sure that he was no more shocked than Lizzie's going to be when she finds out."

Cristal rolled her eyes. "Lizzie's going to be pissed when she finds out."

"Not that she doesn't have every right to be," Allison added, and Cristal nodded. "But I agree that it's going to annoy her that we've lost our hand on her once again."

"We really don't know how to do anything, do we?" Cristal bit her lip as she went on, adjusting her glasses. "At least within our government."

"The Council's always a mess, it's just sometimes more so of a mess than it is other times," Allison shrugged. "You and I have been dealing with this for years, and we grew up in this kingdom. I can barely imagine how frustrating things in our politics are to people like Glynda and Qrow, who are from Vale."

Cristal nodded, tapping her fingers against the desk. "What concerns me more is my mother's involvement in all of this."

"It's a shock, I know," Allison said, giving her a sympathetic look. "I know what it's like to have a parent that's lost their damn mind too...although my father was always outright abusive to me and my mother, or at least as far back as I can remember."

"You don't have to try and compare what you've had to deal with to what I'm going through with handling my mother's betrayal," Cristal shook her head sadly, her long white curls rippling around her and down her back. "She's gone too damn far this time."

"I agree," Allison said, hesitating for a moment but then going on regardless. "I imagine, though, that this is difficult for Edward Ciel as well."

Cristal laughed dryly. "Why was I not surprised by the two of them being involved?"

"I mean...I suppose it made enough sense when we thought about their close personal association for years," Allison said, biting her lip. "At the same time, I can't understand why Ciel would keep that quiet."

"The Ciels have all done their best throughout the years to keep their personal lives as private as possible," Cristal reminded her, glancing over her work and then typing or a minute but then going on. "My family has been known for doing the same. I can't fault him for wanting to keep the focus on work rather than personal lives. Politics shouldn't be charisma games, and it should be about the work, not petty social drama that does not concern the majority of the populace."

"Well said," Allison said, then sighing. "I cannot say that I have the same blessing."

Cristal blew irritably on her side bangs. "I'm just glad that the media's finally stopped being obsessed with me and Emmett because we...well…"

"Were 'found'," Emmett remarked, stepping into the room. "Hi, Al. I take it you're bored because your only current task is managing your company's board of directors and planning the annual fashion showcase in June?"

She smirked. "Well, why else would I be here?"

Emmett gasped in mock horror. "You wouldn't."

She rolled her eyes and punched him the shoulder playfully. "I'm not asking Chrissy for money, god. It's not like I've gone bankrupt."

"Thank god," Cristal said with a faint smirk. "After all, how would be able to stand you if you had?"

"To be fair, Blake has a reasonably sizable fortune set aside from his inheritance that isn't tied up anywhere in my business," Allison shrugged as she went on. "Believe me, we'd be fine. And, either way, I'd be able to get back on top of things by managing, for say, a major pharmaceutical firm."

"A terrifying thought," Emmett said as he sipped his coffee and pushed up his glasses. "Much like how a cup of coffee has rarely left my hands since my twins were born. To be fair...I do drink only three or four cups of it a day since I take forever to get it down...but the point still stands."

"You have an odd way of being both serious and amusing," Cristal remarked, and her brother sassily tossed back his shoulder length, white waves. "Case in point."

"Oh, well, you and I had to be here early this morning and we've fallen into habit," Emmett sighed. "I guess that's probably not the best practise as parents."

Cristal saved her work and then shut her laptop. "I know, but we have a lot going on."

"Like mom being a traitor," Emmett shook his head. "It's awful."

"Technically, she hasn't committed the actual crime of treason although I'm more than certain that she'll commit some sort of crime alongside Ashlynn soon enough," Cristal said a bit dryly. "Nonetheless, it pisses me off."

"We're all in agreement on that," Allison said, glancing at her scroll. "Apart from what we've already agreed upon, have we figured out any feasible plan to defeat Salem?"

"Not unless we manage to track her down," Cristal reminded her. "Which, so far, we haven't been able to."

"It's weird," Emmett said, looking out at the city for a brief moment. "We know that she's in the remains of a desolate wasteland that had been the domain of the Brother God Of Darkness before her, and, yet, we can't quite pinpoint it on a map."

"That's in part because not all of the world is fully mapped," Allison said. "And then there has to be taken into account that the continents have changed, geographically and demographically, enough since several millennia ago when Oz last encountered her there. We have to get the coordinates, but we don't quite know how."

"That seems to be what's halting us the most," Cristal said, standing up and starting to pace. "Aside from some of the politics that have gotten entangled within the group."

"Politics would have always been a factor," Allison pointed out. "It's just that it has become more prominent."

"Either way, it could damn us," Emmett sighed. "Half the time, I think we're all just trying to keep ourselves alive."

"And you'd be right," Cristal said. "Because we have the most to gain...but also the most to lose."


	72. Chapter 72

_**June 3rd  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
11:16 PM**_

Ronnie gave Brianna a gentle squeeze as she curled into him on their chaise lounge while a television program played. "I'm glad you've had a little bit of time to relax."

Brianna pursed her lips for a moment but then sighed. "I'm a bit relieved by it too."

"Anything happen recently?" He asked her with some hesitation. "Or has it just been more of the same with the new project you're working on and the ethics violations you've been filing indictments for?"

Brianna took in a sharp breath. "Not anything you wouldn't already know about, I'm sure."

Ronnie looked to her worriedly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Funny how, even after you promised that you wouldn't intervene to protect me, all of those indictments against me vanished into thin air," She said dryly. "I know you did something, Ronnie, and whether or not you did it yourself or had someone else do it on your behalf...you can't keep doing things like this to protect me no matter -"

"Brie -" He started.

"Your own brother was horrified when I told him," She said, tears rising in her eyes. "Ronnie, do you have any idea, any faint _semblance_ , of what it would do to me if you got thrown in jail because you've committed multiple federal crimes to keep me out?"

He swallowed hard. "No one's going to know -"

"So?" She countered. "Ronnie, I trusted you not to do anything -"

"I'm sorry…" He whispered. "I just couldn't bear the thought of losing you…"

She sighed. "I know that, but it doesn't justify -"

"How does it not?" Ronnie snapped. "How -"

"Because there is nothing ethical about upholding our system in which people in power and wealth are more than capable of having whatever they want and never seeing a day of jail for crimes they've committed," She snapped back. "I hate and am both terrified and tormented by thought of serving time because of the things I did in the PENNY Project, but the things that I justified and approved still led to some horrible outcomes, including her destruction. I should -"

"Brie…" Ronnie said, pulling her tightly into him. "This isn't just about you anymore."

She scowled. "You think I don't know that?"

"I don't want to lose you, I don't want our child to have to be worried about their mother being imprisoned for something that wasn't…." Ronnie trailed off as her scowl only deepened. "Brie, I did what I thought was right just like you have."

She stood up a bit to quickly after he let her go, swaying a bit. "Ronnie," She started slowly. "Stop trying to justify what you've been doing, and stop bringing our child into this."

"Please don't be uptight about the law over this. They're going to need both of us," He said, worry coming into his voice in spite of himself. "And I need you -"

"I know that," She snapped, her hand clenching as she tried to restrain her semblance. "And -"

"Brie, what's -" Ronnie started as his glasses started to ice over a bit.

"You're pissing me off in ways you don't even understand!" She snapped, slapping the counter but then pausing upon the whole thing freezing over. "Ronnie, we're becoming the definition of high class people who will do anything to preserve themselves no matter how many people they have to step over, no matter what the cost is from any level."

He stared at her for a long moment. "I -"

"I love you, Ronnie…" She said softly. "But I think we need to start counseling of some sort to keep our marriage together."

"You really think so?" He asked her, and she nodded. "Alright, honey, if you think it would help. And...I think you're right...regardless of the fact that I was trying to protect you, I did promise that I wouldn't do exactly what I did, and I...it was stupid, and it was overbearing. I...I…"

"You're sorry?" She suggested.

He nodded, came over to her, and took her hands in his. "Yes, I'm sorry. I shouldn't do things like that, I should control my temper -"

"We both should," She said, rolling her eyes. "If the last several years have proven anything."

He sighed. "I know…"

"I hope our child is better than we are…" She murmured. "At the very least, I hope it didn't inherit our absolute worst traits."

"I don't think it did," Ronnie said as reassuringly as he could, wrapping an arm around her waist. "I'm sure it's going to be fine."

"What are we going to do in October…" She trailed off for a moment and then shook her head. "I don't want us to hurt it…"

Ronnie gave her a gentle squeeze. "I promise that's not going to be the case."

"Sounds overconfident for us." She muttered tiredly.

"Brie, you're being irrational," Ronnie said as calmly as he could. "Look, it's getting late, why don't we just go to sleep? We don't have work tomorrow, so let's just relax and I'm sure you'll feel better -"

"What do you -" She started.

"Brie, I care because you're my wife," He snapped. "And the last thing that I want is for something to happen to you or to our child. I'm scared of what might happen to us, but I want all three of us to be alright -"

"Maybe if you didn't snap so easily, that'd be more likely to happen," She shook her head sadly. "I thought you said you were trying to be better about that too…"

"I am," He said, biting his lip. "But it's not easy, Brie, and I -"

"Try harder then," She bit off. "For me."

He pulled her in as close as he could. "You know I will."

"I hope so…" She said. "Otherwise, I'm scared of what might happen to us."

"Nothing," He vowed. "I'm not going to let that happen."

"You still seem overconfident," She remarked, and then sighed. "Should I be worried?"

He shook his head. "Of course not, it's going to be fine."

She considered that for a moment, but then nodded. "Okay…"

* * *

"Anything new with the Council?" Qrow asked, half joking as he took a sip from his flask. "Or is it the same cycle in which nothing can ever get done?"

Winter rolled her eyes. "You make my job sound less like a job and more like managing people who don't want to be managed."

Qrow shrugged. "I'm sure there are some people under your jurisdiction that don't want to be managed."

"I'm not in charge of that many people, just a small unit," She reminded him. "Although, since you asked, the Council is still trying to figure out how to handle Watts, Nicole, and the amount of tension created by that is only increasing, especially with Cinder having escaped the kingdom once more and Victoria doing whatever it is that she does."

"Fuck around?" Qrow suggested. "Or is that too harsh?"

Winter laughed. "I think that might be just about accurate."

Qrow shook his head. "I've never understood her, or what she's doing. What the hell's going on in her mind?"

"I couldn't explain it if I tried," Winter said, rubbing her neck. "It seems to be some sort of complex of power built further upon a desire to preserve herself no matter the cost."

Qrow sighed. "That woman has no standards or morals."

"That's becoming apparent now," Winter said, hesitating before going on. "But she's played us all for fools. We all thought she was going to stand against Cinder...and look where that's gotten us."

"I'm sure this is worse for the Ciels," Qrow said, then shaking his head. "I think most things are worse for them, though."

"The main question now is what we're doing," Winter said, sending a cursory glance towards the night sky and glistening lights of the city. "And where we're going to end up…"

"That's the question," He said a bit dryly. "Not that we're going to have an answer anytime soon."

"Maybe we'll make it out alright," Winter said, tapping her fingers against the sill but then shaking her head. "Who am I kidding...at this point, we might already be damned."

* * *

"And I've left so much behind," Caitlin Morell sang, her high voice resonating even more than usual in the air. "But from now on, I'll find my way, I'll get out...and I'm too relieved to grieve that girl…"

"Caity?" Elizabeth asked.

Caitlin Morell turned around in surprise as Elizabeth stepped into the attic, where the young woman was sitting in almost the centre with her music, laptop, recording software, and keyboard. Pressing pause on the recording, she pulled her headphones off and turned towards her mother.

"I should have known," She said, half amused. "You don't have classes again until early September, and so you came up here to do music."

"Well, I wanted somewhere quiet," She said, her green eyes wide. "Is something wrong?"

"No, of course not," Elizabeth said. "I was just wondering where you were."

Caitlin smiled. "Just here."

Elizabeth nodded. "You really do have a beautiful voice…"

Caitlin sighed. "I suppose…"

"You know how to use it, too," Elizabeth bit her lip as her daughter began to play a beautiful piano aria. "But, sometimes, I'm not so sure most of us do…"

* * *

Yang stared at the ceiling, struggling to fall asleep. "Blake? You still awake?"

Her partner groaned a bit below her. "Yeah...why?"

"Something doesn't seem quite right," She said slowly. "With everything suddenly being so calm."

"The war's left the battlefield," Blake said, groaning again as she pushed herself up. "At least the literal one for now. Honestly, I think the fights we should be keeping an eye on are in politics...otherwise..."

"I know," Yang said, biting her lip as she thought of what Caitlin had said the other day on the subject. "Because if the system fails, then mirrors will shatter...crushed by the weight of the world."

"That's optimistic," Blake remarked, then sighing. "I hope we all come out alright in this..."

"Don't we all?" Yang said, rolling over to her side and clutching one of her pillows. "If not, we're going to -"

" _What's waited until tomorrow starts tonight, like an anthem in my heart, from now on._ _From now on...we will come back home, and we will come back home, and we will come back home...home again. And we will come back home, and we will come back home...home again..._ "

Weiss swore as she heard her scroll's ringtone. "Cas...damn you..."

"Cas has a chorusing ringtone?" Ruby teased, albeit groggily. "Wow...how surprising..."

Weiss all but slapped her scroll to mute it. "I'm not dealing with this right now...I just want to get some sleep..."

Yang laughed dryly. "Yeah, you and me both."

* * *

The first thing he heard was beeping.

"The…" He could barely speak, his voice was strained and even as his vision cleared he was struggling to comprehend a damn thing. "What -"

Karissa cut off his words by embracing him as best he could. "Spencer…" She started slowly. "What the hell were you thinking?"

He looked at her in confusion. "I don't...what exactly is going on?"

"We've gotten the toxins out of your system," Dr. Carline, who had been looking over his vitals, said, her heels clicking as she stepped towards the door. "That was a pretty nasty overdose, though. In many ways, you're lucky to be alive."

Spencer's eyes went wide as turned to Karissa once more upon the doctor leaving the room. "I -"

"I don't even want to know how you got those pills of diamorphine," She said, her voice shaking a little. "But I came home, you were laying in bed, unconscious, and the bottle was just there…"

He bit his lip. "I…"

"What's going on?" Emmeline asked as she stepped into the room, paling a bit when she saw the state her brother was in. "Oh my god, Spencer -"

"Emmy -" He started tiredly.

"What the hell were you thinking?" She all but demanded. "Spencer, you could have -"

"I know…" He said, sighing heavily. "Please don't make me feel worse than I already do."

Emmeline nodded. "I'm just worried, that's all."

"I can't believe that I…" Spencer swallowed hard. "What am I even doing...what…oh god, where are Nattie, Matt, and Perce? Are they alright?"

"They're with Emmett," Emmeline told him gently. "Karissa called him as soon as you'd been taken to the hospital and they've been with him the last several hours. I only got out of the Council an hour ago, some of my meetings ran long."

"I left early," Karissa told him, squeezing his hand. "Since I didn't have to be in any meetings until later but...I called out when I saw what happened."

"When did you find me?" Spencer asked her, still disoriented. "Did -"

"I found you around one in the afternoon…" Karissa admitted, biting her lip. "So almost twelve hours ago."

Spencer stared at her in horror. "Oh god…"

Emmeline glanced at her scroll and then sighed. "Spencer, before you freak out, dad says he's going to be up in a minute -"

"You told dad?" He exclaimed, feeling torn between hurt and betrayal. "How could you tell dad about this?"

"Because he had a right to know," Emmeline snapped, then grimacing when she realised how harsh she sounded. "Spencer, he'd find out either way and it's better if we're honest with him from the outset. He's dealing with enough right now without us going out of our way to keep things quiet from him."

Spencer went silent, glancing at the machines around him to which he was attached.

"...President Ciel, I must inform you that Madame Mar and General Ciel are already with him," Dr. Carline said from down the hall. "...And that he is not in the best state, and very lucky to be alive. In all honesty, I was a bit surprised he came to at all."

"...Of course," Ciel said, his voice sounding both saddened and concerned. "...You must understand that this is a difficult situation for the entire family."

"...The records suggest that this is the first time he has overdosed," Carline said, forcing her voice to be perfectly polished and professional - as if she had rehearsed it. "...Regardless, it's not a good situation for anyone to be in."

A silence passed briefly before Ciel and Carline entered the room, and an impasse began, for a moment, between Edward and Spencer who simply stared at each other before Spencer hung his head in shame and stared at his hands.

"It's a relief that he has you," Ciel finally said, addressing Karissa. "I'm not quite sure where this would have ended up if you hadn't been there."

"I'd rather not think about that," She replied, then squeezing Spencer's hand once more as she looked back to him. "Are you feeling any better?"

He shook his head. "Everything feels a bit hazy, and, to be honest, I'm getting a headache…"

"Withdrawal," Carline said, and he stared at her. "How long have you been taking any form of diamorphine?"

Spencer hesitated. "By prescription or otherwise?"

"Let me rephrase," Carline said calmly. "When was the first time you felt addicted to diamorphine regardless of the form?"

Spencer chewed at his lip for a minute. "Since about a few months before my...before Anna was murdered...so about two and a half, three years ago."

"Does that sound about right to you, President Ciel?" Carline asked him, and Edward nodded shortly. "That's a dangerous precedent...and while he's not been addicted as long as a lot of people who die are…"

"I don't want to think about this," Spencer said softly. "And can we please talk to me instead of about me? I'm an adult, I can think for myself."

Carline looked to Karissa. "Has your husband had incidents like this before that went unrecorded?"

Karissa raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"

"Has your husband overdosed before but recovered without hospital admission by some miracle?" Carline repeated. "Or is this the first time?"

Karissa glanced nervously to Spencer. "We're not married -"

"Oh, well I thought that by your association with -" Carline started, her surprise and scientific curiosity beginning to overtake her a bit.

"This is the first time," Edward informed her. "It would have been recorded in the records from the rehabilitation center if there had been more than one of these incidents because that's where it would have happened."

Carline noted that. "I'll let you all have some...familial discussion and privacy."

Edward sent Spencer a sharp albeit concerned look. "What the hell were you thinking? You could have died -"

"I know -" Spencer started.

"Spencer, what happened?" Ciel sighed. "You were making progress -"

"Says the man who refuses to acknowledge -" Spencer retorted.

"I -" Ciel started.

"Don't," Spencer said, shaking his head sadly as he leaned into Karissa as best he could manage while Emmeline fidgeted nervously and his father stared at him in concern. "I...I'm trying so damn hard, I really am...but even I'm not always strong enough...and, at this point, I don't even know what's going to happen...I just don't."


	73. Chapter 73

_**June 16th  
Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council  
Department Of State  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Security Level: Maximum  
Necessary Security Clearance: High-Maximum  
8:21 PM**_

"You can't be here," The guard said, his eyes narrowed at the woman before him. "Your security clearance is in the balance, is it not?"

Brianna scowled as she pulled out her ID. "Allow me to rephrase the question: is Ronnie in a meeting or not?"

The guard crossed his arms. "Secretary Ciel -"

"What's going on?" Ronnie briefly stepped out of his office, and then sighed as he turned to the guard. "Don't give her trouble, she's got the proper clearance, for one, and, for another, she's my wife."

Brianna haughtily took his hand and stepped into his office with him, slamming the door behind her with her foot. "You know, if you're going to meddle in -"

"Shh…" He said said gently, then lowering his voice further. "Brie, sweetheart, I think I might be bugged. Later, okay?"

She looked at him in concern. "You're joking."

He shook his head. "No, I'm not. But let's not dwell on that. I'm almost done with what I need to have submitted before heading home, so now it's simply filing."

She bit her lip. "I was worried that something like this might happen, Ronnie."

He paused, knowing what she was talking about but, after sharing a knowing glance, responded differently. "I know, what happened to Spencer was awful. Dad doesn't quite know what to make of it, and apparently it's caused a...shift in his relationship with Karissa."

Brie raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"The doctor and several nurses thought she was his wife," Ronnie said, and Brie's eyes widened a bit in surprise. "For some reason that made him nervous and the two of them have been a bit more...cautious. I'm not sure why, though. He says he's as over Anna as he ever will be, and it's not like he's ever proposed to her."

Brie sighed. "Actually, he has."

Ronnie took that in for a moment. "You're joking. When?"

"A few months ago," Brie said, starting to pace a bit. "She asked him where he thought their relationship was going after he tried to forcefully remove himself from taking diamorphine and he just proposed."

"That must have been awkward," Ronnie said as he started filing away some of the documents. "Was he high, though? When he tried to remove himself and proposed?"

Brie shook her head. "No, he wasn't. He was completely sober."

"Well, they're still together, so it worked out," Ronnie said, though he paused for a moment before going on. "I can see why, though, it might come back to them with people assuming they're married."

Brianna nodded. "Yeah."

Ronnie turned towards her in concern. "Something on your mind, Brie?"

She sighed. "Ronnie, there's something -"

"What is it?" He said as gently as he could, though his concern only rose upon her biting her lip. "Oh my god, Brie, something's wrong with the baby -"

"No, that's not what I was going to say," She said, stepping over to him and taking his hands in hers. "Nothing bad has happened, Ronnie."

"Okay," He said slowly. "What is it?"

Brianna smiled a bit. "You and I are going to have to chase a little boy around on top of our jobs."

Ronnie was silent for a long moment. "Are you...are you serious?"

She nodded. "Yes, I am."

He pulled her in tightly. "Honestly, I hope he takes after you."

Brianna laughed a little. "How come?"

"Because you're calm, rational, and sweet," He told her, kissing her cheek. "And I'm snappish, uptight -"

"Aren't we both, to an extent, uptight?" She countered. "Or have I suddenly let loose?"

Ronnie smiled. "Alright, that's fair."

She let herself lean into him a little. "You're happy about this, right?"

He nodded. "Of course I am, we're talking about our child."

"Alright," She said, unable to hide her relief. "Hopefully things don't get too stressful over the next few months."

"I doubt they will," He said, holding her close and running a hand through her hair. "I'm sure that things are going to work out fine for the two of us."

"And you swear you'll be careful?" She gave him a sharp look that was still filled with concern. "Ronnie, please promise me - and mean it - that you won't do anything dangerous on my behalf. This isn't worth it, our son is going to need both of us."

"I know," He said, then sighing. "But I can't do that, Brie, I can't risk anything happening to you. At this point, to hell with everything else, you and our son come first -"

"Ronnie?" Edward paused as he stepped into the room and saw Brianna tightly in his son's arms. "I suppose this does impact Brianna."

Ronnie tensed a bit in spite of himself. "What do you mean?"

Edward sent him a sharp look. "Just a few days ago, a relatively young security administrator spoke to Madame Davis, claiming that he'd recently been behind the wiping or removal of any mention of Brianna from multiple new lawsuits regarding the PENNY Project. Their...claim suggests that you wanted it to happen, hence why it did."

Brianna looked worriedly to her husband. "Edward, I can't imagine that Ronnie would do something like that -"

"Drop the pretense," Edward told her. "I already know he had to have done something, nothing like that happens overnight. The concern is the number of questions its raised since no one can prove it was him. Either way, both of you know that what you're doing constitutes a dangerous game?"

Ronnie bit his lip as he pulled Brianna a little closer. "Aren't we all, though?"

* * *

"So it's confirmed that Victoria's struck some sort of deal with Cinder?" Glynda stared at Emmeline in shock. "And she's helping her take refuge in Argus?"

Emmeline nodded. "Both Terra and Saffron Cotta-Arc have confirmed this to be the case, and they both live and work for the kingdom in Argus."

"Are they coming to the kingdom to give testimony?" Emmett asked her, and she hesitated. "Should they?"

"That depends," Emmeline said a bit nervously. "Considering that they've already provided us with physical evidence, including photographs, that stands on its own. It's probably not worth it to drag them all the way out to the kingdom for the sake of them giving in person testimony to something we already have good intelligence on...but we may very well have them come to explain the situation and give any potential insight that they could provide."

"That makes sense," Cristal said, then biting her lip. "I still am struggling to accept what my mother has become, though."

Ozpin gave her a gentle squeeze. "Chrissy -"

"I just don't want to be like her," She said, sighing. "And I don't want to be a -"

"You're not going to be," James said, giving her a sympathetic look. "Chrissy, I know this is hard for you but your family has always gone through -"

"I shouldn't even be here…" She said, her glasses pressing into her face as she buried it in her hands. "I was dead, I shouldn't -"

"Don't say that," Ozpin looked at her in concern and pulled her closer. "Chrissy, you should be here, and you are."

Emmett shared a long look with Emmeline.

"Chrissy, are you sure you shouldn't see a psychiatrist?" She said as gently as she could. "You've been talking like this more and more, and it's concerning for all of us."

"I…" She trailed off for a moment, struggling with how to respond. "Maybe I should…"

"I'll come with you," Ozpin told her, kissing her cheek. "If you think it would help, that is."

She looked up and then wrapped her arms tightly around him.

"It probably would," She said softly. "At the very least, it might make it more comfortable…"

"Chrissy," Ozpin said, standing up with her and wrapping an arm around her waist as they stepped out of the room. "I promise, I'll do whatever I need to in order for you and our family to be happy."

A long silence passed before the door clicked door hall.

"To be perfectly honest," Glynda eventually said. "I never expected Victoria to do anything like this."

"She probably felt threatened," Emmett said, then shrugging. "But, at the end of the day, I don't know what my mother does anything for. My entire life, she's always struck the balance between living for self serving interests or doing what she felt was right. I'd postulate that this is the former."

"I can't help but wonder if Varna had anything to do with convincing her," James said, then shaking his head. "She's known, now, for being compromised but not to the point where the Atlesian Council can outright demand that sanctions be issued against her no matter how much Karissa wants to do so."

"Karissa's never liked Varna," Emmeline reminded him. "That must have an immense influence for as to why so few people are willing to take her seriously on the matter."

Glynda sighed. "She has good reasons, though."

"Of course she does," Emmeline said. "But that doesn't mean that there aren't going to be people who are up in arms at the suggesting. You know how the Council is well enough at this point, and it's not exactly nonpolar."

Emmett laughed. "I think that's an understatement."

Emmeline raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You think so?"

"After everything I observed as a kid involving the Council, I should know that pretty well," Emmett grinned as he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "You see, my dad always was complaining about the way the Council was slow to approve anything and he didn't like some of the restrictions that the DFACR placed on the company."

"That's the point of having the DFACR," James reminded him. "To prevent one corporate interest in any industry from gaining too much power."

"The thing is, though," Emmett replied. "That the DFACR certainly didn't have a problem violating its own laws under Jacques' leadership of the company."

"It's just as corrupt as the rest of the Council can be," Emmeline hesitated for a brief moment but then went on. "I think my family exemplifies some of the repercussions of that fairly well."

Glynda gave her a funny look. "Are you referring to Ronnie?"

"Who else would I be referring to?" Emmeline sighed. "I know we're all protecting him for better or worse, but he still has broken federal law more than once to protect Brianna."

"I understand why he did it," Emmett said, and she stared at him. "I would do the same thing if we were in the same situation they are. It's not right by law, but it's right by family."

"There's more complications here than would appear at the surface, yes," James said, squeezing Glynda's hand affectionately. "But it's still concerning that Ronnie is willing to abuse his position like that."

"My father is going to lose it on him when he finds out," Emmeline said, a bit of sympathy towards her brother in her voice. "I know why he will be, but he's probably not going to acknowledge Ronnie's intentions anymore than he acknowledges Spencer's pushing to be clean."

"So vaguely," Glynda surmised dryly. "Your father means well, but he has a tendency to be nearsighted when it comes to a lot of issues. He's a good leader, and I frankly agree with him on quite a bit, but he's not necessarily the best father."

"It's not entirely his fault," Emmeline said slowly. "My mother's death was hard on all of us, and it took him especially hard. Because of what happened, and how it was in large part due to laws not being upheld on the end of the Council, he hardened his viewpoint on law. It's black and white to him; something's either legal or it isn't. To be honest, I think that's part of why he hasn't been trying to help Spencer more so as he's trying to make him feel ashamed for being addicted to anything in the first place."

"Your father isn't that bad," Emmett said, resting his head on her shoulder. "He genuinely cares about all four of you, he just doesn't know how to express it."

"Personally, I think Edward's greatest flaw is his arrogance," Glynda remarked. "Not that, of course, the rest of us don't have problems with that as well."

Emmeline bit her lip. "Sometimes I'm not even sure that we know what we're doing; we probably spend more time pretending that we know how to do things than actually doing them because none of us have any desire or the courage to admit where we've gone wrong."

* * *

"Amazing how, after several months, you finally decide that your little sister was in the right," Jacques rolled his eyes as he went on. "I always have expected more from you that you've ever shown, WInter. Perhaps that is a fault on my part."

She scowled. "If you're going to spend your time making me feel inferior, then I'm certainly wasting mine."

Jacques glanced to Qrow. "I apologise for not...attending your wedding to my daughter, and for whatever drama my former associates may have caused."

"Whatever drama?" Qrow looked at the man as if he had lost his mind. "Arthur Watts and Cinder Fall outright threatened all of us, and scared everyone, most notably the Adels and Morells, half to death."

Jacques grimaced a bit at the younger man's coarseness. "I...did not understand the situation in that nature."

Winter crossed her arms. "Are you attempting to be ironic?"

"WInter, I am currently stuck here in solitary confinement, sentenced to a minimum of fifteen years in prison before parole can even be discussed," Jacques said impatiently. "So by no means am I attempting to ironic in any sense."

Qrow snorted. "You've never given a damn about anyone."

"That's not true," Jacques said, leaning forward a bit. "You see, I do genuinely care about my children, and I don't want anything to happen to my wife."

Qrow restrained himself from punching him, and instead clenched his fists. "You don't love your wife, you've hurt all three of your children and broken one of them down into an unstable, teenage boy, with no sense of direction in his life whatsoever while both of your daughters -"

"You see, this is why I didn't want someone like you marrying my daughter," Jacques sighed. "You have no control over your temper -"

"You would slap me or Weiss or even mother if we didn't fit to what you wanted!" Winter exclaimed, staring at him in shock. "How can you accuse my husband of having no control over his temper when I have physical scars because of you?"

Jacques sent a cursory look to the aura cuff around his wrist. "I don't even have usage of my aura nor of a semblance, for what reason must they restrain me with one of these?"

"Don't equivocate," Qrow snapped. "And don't attempt to distract us either."

Jacques looked to Winter. "What do you see in him?"

"A decent man who genuinely loves me and tries to be in the right," Winter said smoothly. "Which is more than mother could ever say of you."

"There's no need to be condescending," Jacques said sharply. "You and I both know that while I do not love your mother that I care about her."

"If that were the case, the two of you would have openly accepted to the other the fact that your marriage was a front," Winter forced her voice to be even despite her anger rising in her. "Which, if it had been by choice, I'm sure would have worked out fine if you didn't have a perpetual desire to control everything."

"Winter, I don't think you understand the sacrifices I've made for this family," Jacques said, restraining his anger as well for the moment. "It was not easy keeping the family in the position it was, and becoming the subject of national and international scandal certainly did nothing but tarnish the Schnee family name and legacy."

"Odd that you say that," Winter said coldly. "Considering that you married into the family and aren't actually a Schnee."

"How dare you -" Jacques started.

"How dare I?" Winter snapped. "How dare I? That can't be a serious question -"

"If you think that the family was better off when -" Jacques argued.

"We've all made our own choices," Winter forced herself to go on even as her heart was racing anxiously. "As for me, I"m standing, here, in this life that I have chosen and you're not going to be able to find the girl I was because she's from the past which is far behind me and buried in the snow."

"Your eloquence is good, I'll give you that," Jacques said, unable to hide his irritation in his tone. "But the entire family is scandalised now! Victoria, so far as I've heard, is involved with schemes against the kingdom that were formulated by one of her children who is clinically insane -"

"Actually, I wouldn't classify Cinder as insane," Qrow said as he wrapped an arm around his wife, relaxing a little bit upon feeling their daughter kick. "I'd call her power hungry, dangerous, and manipulative, though. In many ways, you fit that description as well...although you were dangerous in a much different way than she was. You had political influence and power, you controlled people in the legislature and in the DFACR and even in the DOJ as pawns. That's, for a kingdom like Atlas, an incredibly dangerous precedent to set."

Jacques narrowed his eyes. "And what do you know?"

"Look, I have far more connexions than you'd ever imagine me having," Qrow said, and the man scoffed. "Which include people like the Morells, General Ironwood, the Ciels -"

"The Ciel family is no better than me," Jacques said a bit smugly. "Emmeline, although I'm not, personally, a fan of her, is the best of them, but Ronnie is suspected to have quote un quote intervened in lawsuits regarding his wife, Edward has turned the other cheek to these issues, Nicole is a sadist that can't speak, and Spencer is a drug addict who is in love with a major politician."

"It seems like your old habits still dominate you," WInter said dryly. "Really, going out of your way to belittle people who at least try to be decent despite their flaws?"

"Decency versus its opposite is dominantly dependant upon point of view," Jacques informed her. "I hate to admit it, but, in many ways, there's quite a bit of use in nuance. For one thing, it helps you identify where someone is weak and that's where you can force their hand in your favour. It worked quite well for me for many years."

Winter looked at him in disgust. "You don't listen, do you?"

"I choose not to when I don't feel that it's necessary," Jacques replied. "You are so obsessed with your perceived moral authority that you are forgetting how fallible all of us are. No one is immune from corruption or malleability. Humanity will do whatever it takes to come out on top, and that's simply a generally accepted fact."

"No," Winter said with more confidence than she truly held. "Only in people like you. Tell me, do you have anything helpful to say for yourself?"

Jacques considered that. "Just one thing," He said slowly. "And it's that you need to be careful for your own sake. The people that you're fighting against, people like Watts, Merlot, and even Rosalinde Varna are more formidable than you'd like to give them credit for being."

Winter shared a look with Qrow and then shook her head. "Why don't I quite believe you?"

Jacques sighed. "Oh, Winter, I thought that when you joined the military we established that we would not lie to each other no matter the cost."


	74. Chapter 74

_**June 21st  
Atlas Academy  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
3:15 PM**_

"The truth is that Atlas has never gotten over the divisions caused by its civil war, which occurred approximately forty years before the Great War broke out," Spencer said, pacing as he spoke. "The repercussions of this lay in the hostility towards the faunus even today. Although they're no longer enslaved, it's only been about sixty years since they've had legal rights as citizens of the kingdom. Atlas has done better than a lot of kingdoms, for sure, but that does not negate the history of racism, of violence, of rebellion, and violation of its own ethics laws."

Neon Katt all but slammed her head into her desk, leaning forward. "Humans are lucky in so many ways…" She muttered.

Flynt sighed. "Not all of us are, Neon. My family's had problems just as bad as yours - you know how many jobs my parents have lost over the years, do you know how many times we've been pushed aside too?"

She was silent for a moment. "Fine, wealthy humans that have power are lucky in so many ways."

Iris Carson glanced up from her notes to look to her teammate. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Neon nodded. "Just annoyed and tired."

Kara Leon shrugged, placing a hand on her teammate's shoulder. "We have the rest of the day free after this class, you can always just go to sleep then."

"Give me your notes later…" Neon said, closing her eyes and deciding to let herself doze off. "I was up basically all night writing a paper…"

"And, of course, in the time after that war we only cemented our divisions," Spencer went on. "That's particularly clear in the wealth divide that grew just ten years after the civil war, technically, banned slavery. Still, the issue prevailed enough in the kingdom to make it a factor that the other kingdoms used to justify acts of war against the then neutral kingdom of Atlas in the mid days of the Great War, which was followed just fifteen years later with another, similar conflict that ended up being bloodier than the first. But that is not where we stand at the moment in our studies. The beginnings of powerful families rose in the decade following the civil war - families such as the Schnees, although they would not gain their current influence until the founding of the SDC after the Great War."

Weiss bit her lip as she continued to take notes. "And would slowly descend into darkness under my father and in the shadow of the deaths of my aunt and uncle."

Ruby elbowed her. "Weiss," She whispered. "I don't think that's the point."

"Other families that became powerful, although not so much as in politics at this time and more so in influencing them through corporate wealth, include the Vedettes, the Carringtons, the Mar family, the Hales, and the Ciels," Spencer sighed as he went on. "Although the Ciels are known for being in politics for years - a political dynasty, actually."

Giggles rippled throughout the room, and Spencer shrugged with a half smirk.

"Including myself, at one much more recent time," He added. "Since, before I started teaching, I was also reasonably high up in the Council after years of working in intelligence."

The bell rang less than half a minute later, and, in less than a minute, everyone except for Team RWBY had left the room.

"Alright," Spencer said as the four stepped down. "Let me guess, the four of you need to discuss your mission?"

Ruby nodded. "Are we still set to go?"

Spencer hesitated for a moment, glancing at his scroll, but then nodded. "Yes, City Of Vale, August the fourteenth, investigation into the reported White Fang violence in the city's central district as well as Dust robberies reminiscent of those of Roman Torchwick."

"That's better than it could have been," Weiss said, her arms crossed. "If we'd been sent to Argus -"

"You three would have had to deal with Caroline Cordovan," Spencer finished, and Weiss grimaced at the thought. "Who is still in her position for the moment although it's being contested by the Council."

"It doesn't seem like the Council does things very efficiently," Blake remarked. "In Menagerie -"

"Miss Belladonna," Spencer said slowly. "True efficiency requires placing the power in the hands of a very small group of people with absolute -"

"My parents aren't -" Blake started.

"I'm not suggesting that your parents are dictators in the connotative sense of the word," Spencer said calmly. "But, in the denotative sense, they are. In the connotative sense, I suppose, they're more akin to royalty or autocrats. The way the Atlesian Council is set up with executive departments and leaders, with a full bodied legislature, and a court system - all three of which are subject to balance and checking by the others - doesn't promote the utmost efficiency, but it does promote leaving the power of government in the hands of the people and therefore it protects democracy and the rights of the people."

Blake sighed. "You yourself just said that Atlas doesn't always protect the rights of its people."

"That's true," Spencer agreed. "But does any nation truly protect the rights of all its people?"

She considered that. "Well, no, not really."

"There's a lot in this world that the kingdoms of Atlas and Vale in particular have done a lot of good in," Spencer said, then sighing. "But we've destroyed the stability in Vacuo over Dust and other resources, we've played both sides to maintain favourable positions not only with each other but with Mistral...there's a lot of good to be said, but that doesn't change the damage we've done either."

A silence passed before Yang spoke.

"Can we not be depressing and just be happy about the fact that we get to go on a mission?" She said, rubbing her metal arm. "Because I wasn't quite sure that we'd get to, and this is fucking awesome."

Ruby smiled. "Aww, Yang, were you actually worried that we wouldn't get our way?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, of course not, Rubes. Why would I be?"

Weiss smacked her natural arm. "Don't be sarcastic."

"Oh!" Yang exclaimed with a smirk. "Sure, anything for you, princess."

Blake shook her head. "You three are weird sometimes, you know that?"

"Better than normal," Yang told her, then being serious for a moment. "And it'll help us live, I hope."

* * *

"I suggest that we bring them here," Watts said, sending Cinder a sharp look. "At least before attempting to have them manipulate people from the inside."

"I'm damned useless for that purpose because of Elizabeth Morell," Varna snapped, her violet eyes flaring menacingly. "So if that's supposed to be -"

"I'm glad that you are perceptive enough to be aware of when I'm taunting you," Watts said haughtily. "After all, your skills are in politics."

"Well, with so many leaders on the Atlas Council being stubborn and refusing to trust me because of allegations made by Elizabeth -" Varna started.

"Stop," Salem said, her eyes narrowing as she looked between the two of them. "Madame Morell, for all of her suspicions, is not the primary reason you are compromised for that purpose. Rather, the blame for that lies in Neopolitan."

Cinder scowled at her nails as she examined them. "She betrayed all of us -"

"That much is clear," Salem said as calmly as she could manage. "Particularly in the way she's been more than willing to talk to Atleisan authorities in the hope of being released on parole. There hasn't been a formal sentencing for her yet as she only recently plead guilty to what she was charged with, but we all should know that she will attempt to manipulate the court in her favour because of the family from which she was born."

"The Ciels…" Cinder shook her head. "They're a threat to all of us."

"Brianna Ciel's mistake with the PENNY Project was able to be used in our favour," Salem reminded her. "And it certainly helped in destroying peace during the last Vytal Festival"

Cinder considered that. "Well...I suppose that was of great use."

"The rest of them, however, do pose a serious threat," Salem said, tapping her nails against the table. "Spencer Ciel poses the least, but his relationship with Karissa Mar makes him more dangerous. She has quite a bit of sway in Atlas, and all of them are close to Ozpin. If we want to defeat them, we'll have to...pick them off."

Watts scoffed. "The Ciel family has some of the highest security in the world, there is no way in hell -"

"Do you dare underestimate our Queen?" Tyrion snapped at him. "The Ciels are no match to us -"

"Now, Tyrion," Salem said. "Give them a bit of credit. The Ciels have power, they have money, and they are protected very much by their connexions to Ozpin and his group."

Tyrion hunched forward, his stinger up as he did so. "They're never going to be able to defeat us -"

"As true as that may be, that does not make them formidable enemies," Salem said sharply. "Arthur knows this full well in regards to his daughter and her family."

Watts sighed. "The Adels are, in particular, stubborn and a bit trigger happy."

Salem laughed dryly. "If the Adels were in fact trigger happy, then you would be dead by now. They'll threaten you, of course, but they aren't trigger happy."

Watts narrowed his eyes at the thought, but then nodded tersely. "Of course."

Salem motioned her seer towards her, then waving her hand to have it show their enemies.

"The Schnees are one of the most dangerous families we'll have to deal with, especially with how tied to the Ciels. The General, for one, is a more than capable fighter that is married to the current COO of the Schnee Dust Company. Emmett Schnee's sister, Cristal, is Ozpin's wife."

Cinder flinched a bit nervously upon seeing Salem's hand tense and her eyes flare.

"Now," Salem said, forcing her voice to be calm. "Cristal Schnee is not only Ozpin's wife and the CEO of the Schnee Dust Company, but she's got quite a bit of political sway due to her connexions."

"My sister is afraid and anxious about everything, though," Cinder said pragmatically. "She's already breaking over the possibility of something happening to her daughter or between her and Ozpin."

Salem considered that. "That may very well play out in our favour."

"I agree," Varna said, her eyes narrowing a bit upon seeing Ozpin take Cristal tightly into his arms through the seer. "And I can see that her anxiety towards her family would be able to be manipulated in our favour."

"She herself will not be able to be manipulated," Salem warned her. "You're forgetting her deeply woven romance with Ozpin."

Varna nodded. "I suppose that makes it dangerous."

"She's not going to be manipulated, but she'll be broken," Salem told her. "She's been through so much, that her mother's betrayal will be too much for her to handle well. When she figures it out, she'll be devastated."

Varna snorted. "And she hasn't figured out yet that her mother is a traitor? Her or President Ciel, who was Victoria Schnee's partner?"

"President Ciel believes Victoria may have been involved in things she shouldn't have been, but he doesn't know that for a fact," Salem shook her head. "This doesn't bode well for us at any rate, however. If the entire Ciel family is suspicious of people around them, then we're damned. Cinder, you are at great fault for the suspicions surrounding Victoria. The Atlas Council knows that the two of you were together in Argus...and so we must develop a plausible alibi if we are to make any progress through her at all."

Cinder looked down at her hands, torn between irritation and shame. Regardless, she kept silent.

"There is inherent danger to working through Victoria Schnee," Salem waved her hand, and the seer showed the red headed woman in a transport station. "We will be keeping an eye on her, and this will first be done by Rosalinde."

Watts raised an eyebrow. "Why her?"

"Because Varna is closest with her, historically," Salem said evenly. "And she will meet her in Vale on the seventh. This summer...it will be used for the sake of gaining more intel, more connexions to tear them apart. When the Atlesian government falls apart, we won't have as strong a unified force working against us. They need the government functioning to utilise all of their connexions fully...and when that cannot hold, then the rest of the kingdoms will not be able to either. The destruction of Beacon was...merely a warning. The collapse we will bring upon Atlas, however, will be the destruction of the first pillar. We'll take our last picking last - Vacuo."

Varna snorted. "Because that will be the easiest?"

"Because we have essentially done so already," Salem informed her. "You're set serve for twenty years, at least, so we will have time for you to collapse the kingdom for us."

She flinched at the thought. "Are you sure that's prudent?"

"You cannot hide forever, Rosalinde," Salem informed ehr, a dangerous edge entering her voice. "Nor can you not take a side. You may not like it, but you have made your choice."

Cinder clenched her fists. "Seems like Ozpin's colleagues have."

Watts smirked. "And now, it seems, that everyone else in the world will have to as well."

* * *

"How in the hell could you do such a thing?" Edward stared at his son in absolute horror. "Do you have any idea how illegal that is, how wrong it is? Because if you don't, you really should!"

Ronnie bit his lip, unsure of how to react. "There is no reason for you to be condescending, dad."

"All I know is that Elizabeth Morell is keeping it quiet that you've broken federal law twice to protect your wife," Edward informed him. "And, before you ask, she didn't tell me, I overheard her speaking about the matter with your wife."

"Brie is just as worried as I am," Ronnie snapped. "She and I both know that this is a difficult situation, and while she's not happy with how I handled it -"

"Damn right she's not happy with how you handled it!" Edward exclaimed in slight exasperation. "For god's sake, Ronnie, if you weren't my son I'd be much more angered about this situation rather than -"

"Yes, I'm sure you would be," Ronnie said, crossing his arms. "But that's not the case -"

"What were you thinking?" Edward asked him, sending him a sharp look. "Or had you not been thinking at all?"

Ronnie went silent, biting his lip. "I acted rashly out of concern for my wife and our family. If she went to jail over something -"

"So much as you and everyone else seek to ignore it, she is the primary reason that the android, Penny Polendina as she was called, was sent to the Vytal Festival under the guise of being an Atlas Academy student," Edward reminded him. "And she did so through overriding the rest of the ethics council with support from the head of the DSAEO, Eleanor Violetta -"

"Violetta and Brie both knew there was an inherent risk, but they never intended -" Ronnie argued.

"They violated numerous laws relating to experimentation and testing, particularly when it comes to aura," Edward countered. "And while Brie was not personally involved with any of the things that were outright illegal, she approved them, albeit unwittingly. She and Violetta should be both scrutinised for their decision making in this matter because of the ramifications it has had on the entire world, the effect it had in the Fall Of Beacon Academy."

"If you're blaming my wife for the Fall -" Ronnie started.

"I never said that -" Edward replied.

"What's going on?" Brianna paused as she stepped into the room, shrugging off her blazer and computer bag. "I wouldn't be surprised if the entire damn city can hear the two of you arguing."

Ronnie snorted. "Thanks a lot, dad, we're all going to look a lot worse."

Brianna looked at him in concern. "Oh, god, Ronnie, what happened?"

"You're lucky that no one knows about this apart from those willing to protect you," Edward informed him as Ronnie wrapped an arm gently around Brianna. "This could blow up in both of your faces."

Brianna paled a bit, her hands shaking and her palms starting to grow a bit cold as her semblance began to activate under her anxiety. "What do you mean?"

"I know that Ronnie broke federal law to protect you from going to prison over the PENNY Project," Edward told her, and she looked to her husband with her eyes wide. "I don't know how, but the details might be even more damning."

Ronnie sighed as he pulled Brianna closer to him in an attempt to soothe her. "You just said that you'll protect us -"

"No, I won't," Edward told him. "That may sound harsh, but I am not going to go out of my way to protect the two of you because of mistakes you both made although I have a feeling that Ronnie is much more at fault than you are, Brianna."

She bit her lip. "Edward, what do you -"

"I am going to keep silent on the matter, but I will not protect the two of you if this sees the light of day," He explained. "The two of you have done things that break high order laws, and you should not be exempt from trial or scrutiny or due process. I will keep silent, but that is the extent to which you'll see any sympathy or protection on this matter."

Ronnie shook his head. "You don't understand -"

"Perhaps," Edward admitted as he stepped towards the door. "But that still doesn't make your actions appropriate. No matter your intent, you still abused your power and position."

As soon as the door shut behind his father, Ronnie pulled Brianna into him as tightly as he could.

"I'm so sorry…" He whispered. "I didn't want you to have to hear that."

"It could be worse…" She said, her confliction showing through the wavering of her voice. "He could have decided to inform the DCCCI, the DOJ, and/or the DCCCP of the situation…"

A heavy silence passed.

"You were right.." Ronnie finally said, his voice breaking. "I never should have done this."

"You can't change that you did," She said gently, pushing up his glasses although accidentally icing them over. "Sorry."

"I know your semblance is difficult to control," He said, his arms wrapped tightly around her. "And I know that your emotions influence it -"

"Sometimes I wish I hadn't unlocked it…" She whispered, fighting back tears as she leaned into him. "I don't have that much control, I -"

"I'm sorry for everything…" Ronnie said, holding her close. "I want to protect you and our son, but I should listen to you and not do things just because they're easier."

She nodded weakly. "I just...I had a rough day and hearing that from your father…"

"I'll talk to him more later," Ronnie promised her. "I was hoping he would have been gone before you got home, and that we wouldn't have to worry too much about it."

"How long was he snapping at you like that?" Brianna looked at him in concern. "Ronnie, I know you don't want me to think too much about your family because you think that you and our son are all that matter, but that's just not true."

Ronnie sighed. "Probably about an hour. He spent a lot of it lecturing me about what I did and why I shouldn't have, the impact it could have on us…"

Brianna bit her lip. "Oh."

"It's not going to impact us, we're not going to feel any heat because of it," Ronnie promised her. "Our friends and connexions are going to keep us safe, and my father told us that he'll keep quiet."

"But what if something does happen?" She asked him, her eyes wide. "Ronnie, what if something happens and it separates us from our son?"

"I don't know," He admitted, trailing a hand through her hair. "But I'll do whatever I can to keep our family safe."

She nodded. "I hope nothing happens...I'm scared enough as it is."

Ronnie sighed once more, holding her as close as he could. "And I promise I'll do everything in my power to keep us and our family safe...if I can and we get out of this mess, that is."


	75. Chapter 75

_**July 7th  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **9:17 PM**_

Cristal smiled as her daughter used her magic to summon small, coloured light orbs. "You really like your powers, don't you?"

The little girl giggled as she reached for her summons.

Cristal laid down on the ground next to her daughter. "I'm glad I took today off."

Courtney rolled over to tug at her mother's hair.

"Oh, alright," She said, taking off her glasses and setting them aside near her. "You want to cuddle?"

Courtney kept giggling and reached out to grab her mother's nose.

"You're a sweetie," She said, sitting up and then pulling her daughter into her arms. "I'm glad I have you and your father…"

Courtney stared at her, grey eyes wide.

"I know you don't quite understand yet," Cristal said as the little girl curled into her mother's arms. "But I don't...I've lost more than you'd believe…"

"You alright?" Emmett asked as he stepped into the room. "And what happened to your glasses, your vision is worse than mine."

"I'm fine," She said, although she was in fact barely able to see clearly beyond her daughter in her arms. "Just spending time with my daughter."

Emmett shrugged. "I just got Ari and Ella to fall asleep, which I'm sure Emmy will be relieved about. She had to stay for a late security council meeting, and she said she'll want me to help her relax when she gets home."

Cristal grimaced. "Gross, Emmett, I didn't need to know that."

"Eh," He said, stepping into the kitchen. "Wine or coffee?"

"Are you seriously going to drink coffee right now?" She stared at him incredulously. "I thought you were a bit crazy, not stupid!"

"I'm going to go with two glasses of wine," Emmett remarked. "Sounds like you need it to be tolerable."

"What the fuck is -" She started.

"I'm just messing with you," Emmett said as he poured the wine. "And since I'm giving you your favourite wine, can I get a bit of a pass?"

Cristal rolled her eyes. "Ugh."

"Alright, look," Emmett said, coming over to her and handing her a glass. "I'm just trying to ensure that you don't go crazy, since that's the last thing that we need."

"That's not funny," Cristal said as she started to sip her wine. "I have good reason to worry."

"We all do, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't live," Emmett replied, then awkwardly embracing her. "You're going to be alright, you know."

She sighed as she tried to soothe her squirming daughter. "I hope so…"

Emmett shook his head as he started to wander around the room, glancing out at the city. "Does this have anything to do with mom?"

"I don't want to talk about mommy," Cristal said, fighting back tears. "I just don't."

"Chrissy?" Ozpin paused as he stepped into the room, then laughing softly upon seeing her glasses on the floor beside her. "Did Courtney steal your glasses?"

She shook her head. "No, she and I were bonding and it was easier for me to not be wearing glasses."

Ozpin smiled as he came over to her. "So she was calm today?"

"Of course she was," She said as she reached for her glasses. "She usually is with me. After she woke up from her nap, she started playing with her magic...although I'm not quite sure she understands what it is or how to use it quite yet. "

Ozpin sat down next to her and wrapped an arm loosely around her waist. "She's going to be alright, Chrissy, her magic isn't going to hurt her."

She sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I hope you're right…"

Courtney started reaching for her mother's snowflake necklace. "Momma…" She whined.

Cristal and Ozpin both stared at the little girl in surprise.

"Courtney…" Cristal said slowly. "Was that your first -"

"Momma!" The little girl all but shrieked, still trying to grasp the necklace.

Cristal awkwardly unclasped her necklace and put it on her daughter.

"Is that better?" She asked her, and the little girl smiled and started to play with it. "Good."

"See?" Ozpin said, gently kissing her cheek. "She adores you."

Cristal turned slightly pink. "Oz…"

"And you accuse me of being gross?" Emmett questioned in mock horror. "Come on, how is it that you and your husband flirting with each other is any better than me admitting that my wife wants me to help her relax? That doesn't even have to be -"

"With you, it's always the explanation I don't want to think about," Cristal said, rolling her eyes. "You know what I mean?"

Emmett shrugged. "Depends, Chrissy. You can be a bit of a bitch."

Cristal scowled. "I am not a bitch without good reason!"

Ozpin gave her an affectionate squeeze. "Chrissy…"

Courtney tugged the necklace off from over her head and strung it over her mother's ear.

"Aww…" Cristal said, laughing a little. "You are a little sweetie, aren't you?"

Courtney smiled and curled into her mother once more.

"See?" Ozpin said. "It's all going to be alright, our family's going to be fine."

She sighed heavily as she melted into his embrace.

"Emmy?" Emmett answered his scroll almost as soon as it went off. "You alright?"

"…Just leaving the office," She said tiredly. "…The girls doing alright?"

"They're fine," Emmett said gently. "And Ari and Ella are already asleep."

"…Thank god," Emmeline sighed in relief. "…I'm looking forward to seeing you soon."

Emmett laughed. "Anything in particular you want to –"

"…You know what I mean!" She exclaimed. "…Emmett, don't you dare right now! Come on, wait at least a little!"

"Alright," Emmett said as he adjusted his glasses. "I'll tease you later."

"…No," Emmeline said. "…No teasing."

"Alright, fine," Emmett said, smiling as he paced around. "I'll ravish you later."

"…Better," Emmeline said, giggling a bit. "…I love you, Emmett, really."

"Oh, sweetheart," Emmett said softly. "I love you too."

"…I'll see you when I get home, alright?" Emmeline murmured. "…Believe me when I say that things were a bit much at work today."

"The Council getting under your skin?" Emmett asked her. "Or is it your brother?"

"…Ronnie was a mess today," Emmeline told him. "…Apparently he thinks that our dad is angry with him and Brie."

Emmett sighed. "They've made some mistakes, but they're not bad people."

"…Well, you know how my dad feels about things like this," Emmeline said. "…I don't agree with him, but…"

"I don't think he understands," Emmett said, then biting his lip. "But I guess we've all got sides to take."

* * *

"Spencer, can we please talk about what happened?" Karissa stared at him in concern as he paced. "It's been just over a month, and we need to –"

"I really don't want to talk about it, 'Rissa," Spencer said, looking down at his feet. "I feel bad enough already…"

Karissa sighed. "Spencer…"

"I'm sorry…" He said weakly. "I know I'm causing you pain and I…I'm so sorry…"

Karissa stopped his pacing and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I still love you, Spencer."

He pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. "I love you too…"

"Spencer, why don't we go to bed?" She said softly. "Don't you think you'll feel better?"

He wrapped an arm around her waist. "Alright…"

Karissa rested her head on his shoulder as they stepped into their room and she closed the door behind them with her foot. "Spencer, I really am worried about you."

He bit his lip. "'Rissa –"

"Is there anything I can do?" She asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed with him. "Or do you –"

Spencer cut her off with a kiss. "May I just hold you?"

She curled into his arms. "Of course…"

He squeezed her affectionately. "How badly do you want to talk about it?"

Karissa shifted slightly to look at him. "You already know the answer to that –"

"I don't even know what I was thinking," Spencer bit off, his voice shaking. "But I…"

"You could have died…" She said quietly. "And –"

A quiet knock was heard on the door.

"Nattie, Perce, Matt, it's past time for you three to go to sleep –" Spencer started.

"I'm not your kids," An irritated, high pitched voice said as she opened the door. "Don't be a dick."

Spencer and Karissa stared at the small woman, leaning on an umbrella.

"I thought you weren't likely to be released on parole," Karissa said, then shaking her head. "Let me guess, being the president's daughter played out in your favour?"

Neo scowled at her but nonetheless nodded curtly.

"Why exactly are you here?" Spencer asked her. "Is there –"

"You think Ronnie and his wife would be happy to see me?" She snapped, her throat starting to hurt just from the simple act of speaking. "Because they wouldn't. And Emmeline and Emmett have their own issues, and you're –"

"Spare room is down the hall," Spencer told her tiredly. "The open door."

Neo shrugged.

"I don't know how I feel about this," Karissa said, sharing a slightly nervous look with Spencer. "You're still a criminal who's committed murder, committed larceny, and –"

Neo stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her before Karissa could finish her statement.

"I don't know if I trust her," Karissa said, and Spencer sighed. "I don't even know how they released her without informing me! I'm the head of the DFAMA, and she is, because of some of the things she's been involved in, an issue when it comes to foreign affairs! Ronnie should be aware by now too, as should the entire security council and the DLNLE –"

"'Rissa –" Spencer started.

"I'm going to check this," Karissa said, reaching over and opening her scroll. "There's absolutely no way that they have the power to do this without informing me or Ronnie at the very last least."

Spencer bit his lip. "I'm not sure –"

"Maybe I'm being a bit egotistical, but nothing is supposed to happen like this without notifying me, or Ronnie, or, for god's sake, the entire security council!" Karissa paused, glancing up from her emails and messages. "Sorry, that was redundant, and I shouldn't be telling you all this –"

"I know the basics of the situation," Spencer gently reminded her. "And it's not as if you're snapping about classified information. I could assume most of what you're saying from my experience on the Council, and I –"

"There's nothing," Karissa said, then going through her information one last time. "That shouldn't be possible, that violates the laws that the Council itself set decades ago –"

"'Rissa, you don't have to –" Spencer started.

"Just…" Karissa quickly dialed a number familiar to both of them. "Ronnie, I swear to god –"

"Karissa, do you just have to be in possession of the worst timing in existence?" Ronnie snapped, and Karissa rolled her eyes as she set her scroll on speaker. "For god's sake, it's 9:30 in the evening, I'm trying to spend time with my wife –"

"Yes, before both of you go to prison," Karissa paused upon realizing how harsh she sounded. "Ronnie, listen, I'm irritable right now –"

"Let me guess," Ronnie said, an edge still in his voice. "The release of Nicole after a parole hearing that was unplanned and unapproved by the security council when she's a dangerous –"

"Ah, so you and I are in agreement," Karissa sighed. "Ronnie, I know you have other matters to be worried about –"

"I know it's out of line for me to ask, but was my office bugged?" Ronnie bit off. "Karissa, I know you might not want to answer but I'm practically begging you –"

"Ronnie, there's a difference between silently protecting you and outright enabling you to continue to break federal law for Brianna," Karissa said, slowly. "But I…"

"Please…" Ronnie said, his voice breaking. "I know I've made plenty of mistakes and I shouldn't –"

"…We don't have a right to know –" Brianna broke in.

"Yes, we do," Ronnie said, then sighing heavily. "Karissa –"

"Both of you were bugged," She finally said. "At the beginning of June. But…nothing damning has been found. Now, don't either of you dare –"

"We'll be careful," Ronnie promised. "I'm sorry about everything."

"You can be an ass, Ronnie, but I understand why you feel the need to protect Brie," Spencer said as he wrapped an arm around Karissa. "I know –"

"You'd do the same thing?" Ronnie questioned weakly. "Or are you –"

"Don't be an ass now, you know I would," Spencer said, then shaking his head. "You two are going to be alright."

"I hope the same can be said for you and Karissa," Ronnie said, his sincerity clear even through the line. "Especially considering –"

"…Oh, god, Ronnie," Brianna said tiredly. "…Don't be a dick."

The line clicked off shortly after.

"Sorry," Karissa said, shutting her scroll and set it aside. "I –"

Spencer cut her off by suddenly pulling her tightly into his arms.

"I love you…" He murmured. "And I'm sorry about my semblance, and me –"

"Don't," Karissa said. "I love you too…"

"The Council's pretty bad sometimes, isn't it?" Spencer laughed dryly. "I suppose going from being involved with it to teaching it and the general history of the kingdom to aspiring huntsmen and huntresses makes sense for me."

"After what happened…no one can fault you for leaving investigation," Karissa said gently. "It was horrible, I remember…well, the two worst days I can remember in recent history were that day and the day the attacks on the SDC occurred that…"

Spencer bit his lip. "I know…and you stepped out of your car just shortly after Cinder disappeared –"

"With all the times she's gotten away, you'd think we'd have gotten better at dealing with her…" Karissa sighed. "I suppose, like always, we're just stuck in a relentless cycle with people like that…"

* * *

"Listen to me," Rose said as she glanced around nervously, adjusting the rose pin in her hair as she continued to walk. "I don't want to be involved in this, and I know you don't either, but we're going to be killed if we don't –"

"Shut up," Victoria said, crossing her arms. "Do you have any idea how –"

"Your daughter –" Rose snapped.

"Oh, don't remind me that my child is an insane woman who orchestrated the Fall Of Beacon Academy!" Victoria gestured towards the mostly repaired academy in the distance. "And do you have any idea how much I had to give up in order to preserve my life? _You_ had to give up nothing but your conscience –"

"You act as if that was easy!" Rose shrieked, then calming herself. "You, on the other hand, gave that up years ago when you let your daughter marry a man that you had intended to overtake the company for the sake of spiting your husband!"

Victoria went silent. "How dare you –"

"If we could go of the grid like Raven Branwen, then I'd recommend we do that," Rose shook her head as she pulled Victoria into a nearby alleyway. "But we can't. Salem would send your daughter after us and it'd be the end. Nicole Ciel was lucky…but I don't even think that she's going to remain safe forever. The Ciel family's power and…connexions will not be able to protect them forever. It didn't protect you."

Victoria looked away. "I hate you."

"Because I'm the PM of Vacuo?" Rose suggested. "Because I'm wealthy? Because I'm living in a life that's always going to be better than yours?"

Victoria narrowed her eyes at the ground. "Well, I suppose that's a good part of it…the other part of it is that you remind me of myself, twenty years ago."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "I forget that I'm twenty years younger than you."

"You're forty-five, and you're highly accomplished, but at your age I had adult children who I…" Victoria sighed. "I cared more about advancing myself and my position…and, of course, spiting Nicholas further than marrying Willow off to Jacques when she told me she wanted him…"

Rose crossed her arms. "Get to the point."

"I never should have done what I did," Victoria said, a tinge of regret in her voice. "After Cristal and Emmett died –"

"Yes, I have questions about how they're still alive," Rose said, rolling her eyes. "But I can see why that would mess you up."

"I thought I was becoming more…emotional and…I suppose, _human_ again after I got involved with Edward," Victoria said softly. "But, the truth is, I've made myself irredeemable at this point. If you think someone like him…well, at least he's a decent human being, with ethics, morals, and brilliance…I've become the opposite, apart from the last. I've ruined my life, and it was for what? Preserving it? That's complete –"

"Bullshit?" Rose suggested. "Well, we're both too far in to get out now. I think that's been made clear enough. Your daughter will do what she did that Pyrrha Nikos on the top of Beacon Tower a few years ago –"

"That was absolutely horrid –" Victoria started.

"I agree," Rose said, eyeing the other woman critically. "I'm not saying it's not, but you and I both know that life isn't a fairytale….no matter the fact that they're real."

Victoria laughed shortly. "Yes, that's not absurd to think about at all."

"Well, Ozpin's –" Rose said with a smirk.

"I know," Victoria said, her feeling of dejection rising through her. "Sometimes I wonder what we did to end up in this mess…"

"We've made our choice," Rose snapped, irritated by the Schnee's confliction as she tried to suppress her own. "Can't you just accept that fact?"

"I'm trying!" Victoria said, finally looking to her with her grey eyes flaring and only highlighted by her fading red curls. "But I don't think that…Rose…let me ask you something a bit…unusual."

Rose rolled her eyes but then shrugged. "Why not?"

Victoria took in a deep breath but then forced herself to speak. "Do you believe in destiny?"

Rose glanced around the alleyway upon hearing something snap, then deciding there was no one there to overhear them. "Yes." She finally said. "Yes, I still do."

But, unbeknown to one of the women, there was a red eyed man and white haired woman listening from in the apartment above the alley – the window open for the balmy summer air.

"Some of that I never expected to hear," Winter said slowly as she shut the window. "We all knew that Varna was going to be in Vale, but with my mother –"

"There's no way that we'd be able to hear that other than them planning it," Qrow said, sipping from his flask. "Win, your grandmother's a psychic. With everything that's happened –"

"The Council's going to be horrified by this," Winter said, glancing at her scroll. "And they can't dispute –"

"It's too uncanny," Qrow said, stepping over to the window and glancing down where Varna and Victoria were still speaking. "Win, what if this is my semblance –"

"Oh god, not this…" She groaned. "Qrow, I know you're worried –"

"What if you and Raquelle are –" Qrow started.

"Qrow," Winter said gently. "Can we please consider all of this rationally when we get back to Atlas on the seventeenth?"

He considered that, but then nodded. "Alright."

"I never thought I'd hear her admit that she had a selfish reason behind the majority of the things she did with the family," Winter said, sighing as he wrapped an arm around her. "She's quite a bit like my father in that way. Everything has to benefit her, she has to have her way…she has to be on top."

Qrow pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. "You and I won't be like that. When Raquelle's born in September, she'll have two loving parents who aren't out to do whatever the hell your father or grandmother were."

"I know," Winter said, then biting her lip. "But I can't help but be a bitcunnerved by this."

"I am too," Qrow reminded her. "This is weird, and it's too coincidental to be only that."

"Or this world really is out to get all of us," Winter remarked a bit dryly. "At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if it is."

A weighty silence passed as they considered that and watched as Victoria and Rose left the alleyway for the main city.

"I barely even know what to make of my own family anymore…" Winter all but whispered as she leaned into him. "With everything that's happened, I'm not even sure of anything anymore other than the division and the clear…the clear danger we're all in."

"If you want to go back to Atlas early and just relax at home with me, then that's fine," Qrow told her. "If you're freaked out by all this –"

"We can't spend the rest of our lives in fear, we're not going to get anywhere living like that," Winter sighed. "And we're better than that, we're huntsmen…or in my case, a mid ranking member of the Atlesian military."

Qrow nodded. "If that's what you really want."

"I think we have more questions than answers at this point," She said, glancing out the window again. "I can't imagine where things might be headed anymore."

"At this point," Qrow said, holding her close. "I think the best we can hope for is that we make it out alive. All of us…even if that's not realistic."


	76. Chapter 76

_**July 18th  
Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council  
Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Security Level: Mid-Range  
Necessary Security Clearance: Mid-Level  
8:35 PM**_

Winter flinched a bit in spite of herself upon seeing Victoria's name appear in another report sent into the Council for review. "You have nothing to worry about." She muttered. "She was in Vale that one day, and then she was gone. There's absolutely nothing –"

"Schnee," James paused for a moment upon her looking up. "There's something we need to discuss regarding your reports."

"I have new information relating to Victoria Schnee if that is what you are referring to," Winter said, her voice sounding constrained. "I filed the recording a few hours ago."

James sighed. "I hadn't gotten to that yet."

"The gist of it is that she is in fact working with Prime Minister Varna to undermine the kingdom of Atlas," Winter said, hesitating for a moment before adding. "And, of course, the rest of the world through whatever plans they're involved with through Cinder."

"That's what the security council's been wanting to hear," James said, and Winter raised an eyebrow. "So that they can track her."

"You mean obtain permission to track her," Winter said dryly, and he nodded. "Of course."

"I have a feeling that either Madame Morell or Director Adel would have found a way around the technical rules," James admitted. "The suspicions that the security council has had about Victoria Schnee are reasonably drawn out. They've thought, as you know, for awhile that she had connexions and ties to things that she perhaps shouldn't have. Cinder was simply one of them."

Winter sighed. "To be perfectly honest, she actually said a few things relating to the family that shocked me."

"Really?" James hesitated for a moment. "Anything in particular that you thought to be noteworthy?"

Winter bit her lip. "Amongst other things, she referred to Cinder as her 'insane child' that caused the Fall Of Beacon. She added that she had to give up a lot to preserve her life."

James considered that. "A little different from what I expected."

"She also thinks lowly of Prime Minister Varna," Winter told him. "Actually, she even said she hates her."

"There's a part of me that isn't quite sure that Victoria genuinely hates her," James said, pausing for a moment but then going on. "Not if what we've heard before is true."

"In fairness, I'd say she was provoked," Winter bit her lip, unsure of how she felt towards her grandmother. "Considering one of the comments Varna made."

"Really?" James looked at her in surprise. "What exactly do you mean?"

Winter hesitated. "Varna told her, albeit honestly, that the Ciel family's connexions and power will not be able to keep them safe forever, citing how it did Victoria no good."

"Through her relationship with President Ciel?" James asked, and she nodded. "That was never something I could quite understand."

"None of them really could," Winter's fingers tapped anxiously against her desk. "Especially as it was shortly revealed, after they found out their father had been involved with her for several months, that she was working with her daughter or, at the very least, silently supporting her in the sense of being complacent to what she was doing."

"Victoria's entire life has been about doing things to her benefit," James remarked. "That's starkly clear if you look at her history. I don't think she's ever done anything that wasn't inherently selfish."

"The…odd thing was that it sounded like she was actually upset," Winter admitted, shaking her head as she went on. "It was apparent that she has genuine feelings for Edward, but that her life means more to her."

James raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Winter sighed as she pulled out her scroll and hit play on part of the recording.

" _I thought I was becoming more…emotional and…I suppose, human again after I got involved with Edward. But, the truth is, I've made myself irredeemable at this point. If you think someone like him…well, at least he's a decent human being with ethics, morals, and brilliance…I've become the opposite, apart from that last. I've ruined my life, and it was for what? Preserving it? That's complete –"_

Winter paused the recording as Varna's reply began, muffling it out. "You may draw your own conclusions, sir, but my view on the matter remains the same."

James considered that. "It's interesting to say the very least."

"It's still disturbing, some of the things she said," Winter said. "Not Victoria, but Varna. On a few other topics. Some of them were uncannily akin to Cinder's viewpoints…and, frankly, her vernacular."

James sighed heavily as he stopped pacing. "I shouldn't need to ask, since I imagine the answer will be affirmative, but do you have recordings to support that?"

Winter nodded and pushed through the recording a bit to around the point to which she was alluding.

"The discomfort that arises from this is especially so due to some of what we learned after the Fall Of Beacon – including the grainy video and audio footage of Cinder's brutal murder of Pyrrha Nikos," Winter hesitated over the button to play the recording. "As a fair warning."

James motioned for her to play the recording. "Go ahead."

" _Do you believe in destiny?"_

A silence passed in the recording following Victoria's words, but Varna did respond though her voice was quiet in the tape.

" _Yes. Yes, I still do."_

Winter grimaced a bit at the words, in spite of herself.

"That…" James trailed off for a moment. "That raises more questions than it does answers. Although, I imagine, that will in particular be of great interest to the security council."

"They'll essentially have a holiday over this evidence," Winter remarked dryly, then catching herself. "That was uncalled for."

"No, I happen to agree," James said. "Elizabeth, especially, will be more than willing to throw Varna and Victoria behind bars for the rest of their days assuming she has the evidence to request so. It is unlikely that she'd meet much resistance, too."

Winter shook her head. "If I may have permission to speak freely –"

"You may –" James started.

"Madame Morell has a tendency to be…hypocritical when it comes to the law," Winter said, her fingers still tapping against her desk. "Secretary and Dr. Ciel as well, but I see it more so in Madame Morell. She was rightfully acquitted in her trial and is still a high up government official, but she didn't have to be elected to her position, nor did she really have much of a chance of going to prison once the details got out. Even now, there are a lot of people that call for her to step down because of something that happened years ago. And, even with all of that, she still is close to hardline about law enforcement yet remarkably liberal in every other sense. She's a hypocrite in so many ways, and, based on what I've heard from my uncle, the calls for her to step down and her history with Cinder has caused a lot of animosity towards her daughter."

"Things are more complicated than that," James told her, then shaking his head. "We can't keep viewing the world from one angle…I was forced to see that after the Fall…and now we're all caught into the grey."

* * *

"Mommy, please," Caitlin clutched her book close to her chest as she continued to follow Elizabeth around the house. "No one else is home, and they're going to be gone all week!"

Elizabeth sighed. "Just because your brother is camping with some friends in Vale and your father is out of town for work doesn't mean that we're going to discuss this."

"But no one can object, and it's not like I'm going to tell anyone what you say," She countered, her green eyes wide. "I'm scared by it too –"

"I just wish you didn't have to know," Elizabeth said, turning to face her daughter. "Because, let alone the fact that the majority of it is highly classified, it's dangerous and knowing implicates you."

She bit her lip. "Do you really think she'd go after me?"

"I don't doubt that she would go after you," Elizabeth said, then staring at her hands and fiddling with her wedding ring. "I'm terrified of something happening to you because of this, I really am."

Caitlin awkwardly embraced her mother. "You think that's going to happen?"

"I think it's possible," Elizabeth admitted quietly. "Because she doesn't give a damn about what she's doing so long as she gets whatever end goal she desires."

Caitlin stared at her as Elizabeth started brush through her hair. "Mommy, are you really that worried?"

She paused and stared at herself in the mirror, then sighing once more. "Of course I am. If you think that things aren't already bad enough…well, they're only going to get worse. I shouldn't tell you this, but we're always going to be at risk of war so long as people like her are running free. We almost caused a major conflict in Mistral because Cordovan lost her damn mind and brought out a mech to fight something we –"

"So we're –" Caitlin started.

"No one is truly safe anymore," Elizabeth said, sending her a sharp look. "And, for all our power, money, and connexions, we're still in danger."

"Oh…" Caitlin twisted her bronze waves in her hands. "I –"

"I don't want to put you in danger, and I really don't want you to put yourself in danger," Elizabeth shook her head as she heard the doorbell ring down the hall. "I'll be right back."

Caitlin all but ran after her mother, whose heels were clicking authoritatively against the floor. "Did we –"

"No, we don't have –" Elizabeth started as she, albeit a bit hesitantly opened the door. "Blake, Allison…"

"Don't get mad," Allison said, putting up her hands. "There's just something we thought –"

"It has to do with Watts," Blake said, wrapping an arm tightly around his wife. "There's talk of –"

"Caitlin," Elizabeth said, looking sharply to her daughter as she motioned Allison and Blake into the sitting room. "We'll talk more later, okay?"

She sighed. "Okay…"

Elizabeth paused for a moment before entering the sitting room herself and closing the door.

"I don't want her eavesdropping, that's all," Elizabeth said. "This, I imagine is highly classified and she already knows things she shouldn't."

Blake laughed. "That's an understatement."

Elizabeth crossed her arms. "So," She said a bit icily off the comment. "What exactly is this about?"

"There has been some talk of…lessening my father's sentence so long as he continues to cooperate with the Council," Allison bit at her nails as she spoke. "Especially now that Nicole Ciel has been released –"

"Those were completely different circumstances," Elizabeth told her. "They're not going to do that for him. I can almost guarantee you that Miss Ciel's release had almost everything to do with her being the president's daughter. No one gives a damn that Edward keeps saying that the law has to apply to everyone and that includes him…several members of the Council are completely spineless and, unfortunately, the parole committee for her case was filled with that."

"Lizzie, we all know that Watts is more than simply the normal levels of manipulative!" Blake exclaimed, and Allison placed a hand gently on his shoulder, albeit pulling away upon feeling him flinch as she touched his left. "Who knows what the DOJ will do?"

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, half amused. "That's a bit odd to hear, coming from the head of the DOJ."

Blake stared at her for a moment, then shaking his head. "You know what I meant."

"You're not formally recused for this case, at the moment," Elizabeth reminded him. "Prior, closed ones, yes. But this? No, you could do anything you want. If you order him to be kept –"

"That's unethical –"

"Is it within your jurisdiction?" She countered, and he bit his lip. "So, it is."

"I was more so going to ask that you raise the issue with the security council," Blake said, taking one of Allison's hands in his and squeezing it affectionately. "So that we could have a formal vote on it and, since the security council is vastly anti-Watts, then he's kept behind bars and giving information without me being the one behind it."

"Pinning this on me, really?" Elizabeth scowled. "This is beneath you, Blake."

A heavy silence passed amongst them.

"Lizzie, what's going on?" Allison asked her gently. "No matter what you think, you're not usually this irritable."

"Well, maybe I have a good reason to be," Elizabeth said, starting to pace. "Maybe we all should be scared, and not of Watts alone. With everything that's happened, how likely is it that any of us will make it out alive?"

Allison shared a long look with Blake.

"Cinder?" She hesitantly suggested, and Elizabeth nodded shortly. "Is she back in the kingdom?"

"She's gone completely dark, we can't track her," Elizabeth sighed. "She could be anywhere, and we won't know until it's too late."

"You're just paranoid –" Blake said tiredly.

"Paranoid?" She demanded, her eyes flaring. " _Paranoid_?"

Blake bit his lip. "Lizzie, you know I didn't mean that to be –"

"Oh, so I'm paranoid in the same way you are about Watts when Al keeps telling you not to worry?" Elizabeth stared at him in complete shock. "What the hell is –"

"Maybe we're both paranoid," Blake said, pulling Allison a bit closer to him in spite of the pain it caused him. "But we have good reason."

"It's not paranoia if you have good reason," Elizabeth snapped. "It's being afraid of something that you know you have every reason to be worried about and afraid of!"

"Lizzie…" Allison said gently. "You don't have to act stronger than you are."

"And what makes you suggest that I act at all?" Elizabeth replied, hating the way she felt. "With everything I've been through –"

"Lizzie, you and I both know that this has been eating away at you for years," Allison sent her a genuinely sympathetic look, and all of them knew that she meant what she was saying. "And I know that every time people call for you to resign or bring up what happened for the sake of calling you a hypocrite for your hardline views on law enforcement –"

"I don't…" Elizabeth looked away, glancing at the fading streaks of colour in the twilight sky. "I don't want to think about this…and, honestly, all of this has become even more horrible for me the longer I've lived with it…with all of this…"

And, despite what Elizabeth had wanted, her daughter was listening, just by the door, and caught onto every single word they spoke.

* * *

"This new report is rather disturbing," Edward said, sighing heavily as he read through the write up that Schnee had forwarded him shortly after arriving back from Vale. "The recordings, she suggests, are rather damning."

"The security council is going to be fascinated by this," Dr. Brianna Oobleck remarked dryly. "And, with good reason, they're going to track her down and drag her back her for trial by her hands and feet."

Edward flinched at the notion. "That's a bit graphic."

"That's a bit true," Oobleck shook her head, her green curls flying around her. "You and I both know that she's –"

"This isn't like her," Edward said, then pausing as he considered that. "I shouldn't be having any connexion to this, I shouldn't –"

"You're not going to _act_ on anything you learn," She reminded him. "But you need to be informed."

"That's fair," Edward acknowledged, glancing at his email in which a corollary to the report had recently arrived. "Of course there's more."

"There always is," Oobleck shrugged. "You don't still have feelings for her, do you? Based on what we know now, she's all but committed treason –"

"Treason is a legal definition that pertains only to the action of an Atlesian citizen or constituent aiding and/or abetting a foreign power that the kingdom is officially and legally at war with – either declared by the president and approved by the legislature and DFAMA, or if the DFAMA and legislature declare and approve it independently," Edward said, sounding tired and strained. "At the moment, the kingdom of Atlas is not at war with another nation to which she could have defected –"

"Does the war against Salem count?" Oobleck questioned, and he looked up in surprise. "Or does the fact that, essentially, the entire security council is aware of it at this point?"

"Not under the law," Edward told her. "And we are not going to provoke it into being such."

Oobleck scoffed. "It'd certainly be easy to do so."

"It would cause more trouble than it wouldn't, and, for another, informing the people of the war against Salem could lead to the exact kind of damage we've been trying to avoid," Edward countered. "And it would be damn near impossible to get the security council to agree to admit to why we care so much about keeping people like Watts behind bars and people like Cinder Fall under our thumb if we can't keep them in prison."

"The problem with that is that people seem to think that the Adels, due to the Watts situation, have an incomprehensible amount of political power and influence, while people also think that Madame Morell is hellbent on revenge that some people view to be hypocritical," She rolled her eyes. "Those people are complete idiots, but they cannot be wholly blamed for their ignorance."

"With international relations so tense at this point, it would be counterproductive to declare all of this to the public –" Edward started.

"Yes, and why?" Oobleck replied. "Is it because it would piss off Prime Minister Varna of Vacuo?"

"If she declared war with the kingdom of Atlas –" Edward began, looking at his top advisor a bit sharply.

"My point," She said slowly. "Is more that we might be damned either way, so what do we have to lose?"

"Assuming what the Relic supposedly said, everything," Edward shook his head. "Nothing that's happened lately has been good, at least in that regard."

"In your own family as well," Oobleck pointed out, and he sighed. "You know full well that things have been anything but…well, nice in your own family and I think that's straining you. Secretary and Dr. Ciel, for one –"

"While Ronnie was doing what he thought was right, he knew full well that it –" Edward said, still struggling to reconcile his feelings towards his eldest son.

"Dr. Ciel is taking it particularly hard," Oobleck pointed out. "She and your son have a relationship that is as volatile as ever, but they adore each other, and they're concerned about their son who won't even be born until October."

"I know Brianna's having a hard time because of what Ronnie has repeatedly done on her behalf, and I know it's because of her work in regulating the kingdom's ethics and ethics laws," Edward paused for a moment before going on. "She and I have talked about it, and while she understands Ronnie's…I suppose reasonably impulsive nature…she can't believe he's done what he has. Frankly, neither can I, although saying such has caused more than a few arguments between the two of us."

"That doesn't change the fact that he feels like he owes you a lot," Oobleck told him, a faint smile on her face. "Considering that, not only has he said that even with all that's been going on, he and Dr. Ciel are naming their son partially after you. Ryan Edward Ciel."

He stared at her for a moment in complete surprise. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, he let that slip the other day when we were talking before a security council meeting," She said, then rolling her eyes. "He's got his issues, but he's still just as human as the rest of us and he's better than a lot of people."

"I would tend to agree with that…" Edward said, trailing off as he glanced to the unopened email once again. "But, to be honest, I am less worried about them because the worst that could befall them is scandal…"

"While the worst that could befall your other son is death," Oobleck said bluntly, any humour leaving her. "Professor Ciel has Madame Mar, though, and given how concerned she always seems for him –"

"What do you mean?" Edward asked her.

"I mean that I see her talking with him on her scroll often enough when she's not doing pressing work or is in meetings," She explained. "And, of course, there are the times when he's been here and I've both seen and heard her concern."

Edward was silent, processing that. "All I can hope for is that he'll be alright and that there won't be horrible tragedy for Madame Mar or his children….and, in all honesty, the entire family."

"I know," Oobleck said a bit ruefully. "It's horrible, it really is, the way addiction has taken a hold of him."

"Emmeline's the luckiest of all of my children, and yet she still had to endure the death of her husband, raising a child on her own, the death of her own mother…" Edward shook her head. "At least she got Emmett back…in that sense, she's better off than the rest of us."

"And Nicole?" Oobleck questioned. "What about her?"

Edward sighed as he opened the email and pressed play on the audio recording Schnee had sent him, tuning out the muffled noise for a moment. "I just hope that her life gets better, and she can move on from whatever it was that she was dragged into."

Oobleck nodded. "That makes sense…" She trailed off upon hearing the recoding. "Is that Victoria Schnee and Varna –"

" _I thought I was becoming more…emotional and…I suppose, human again after I got involved with Edward. But, the truth is, I've made myself irredeemable at this point. If you think someone like him…well, at least he's a decent human being with ethics, morals, and brilliance…I've become the opposite, apart from that last. I've ruined my life, and it was for what? Preserving it? That's complete –"_

Ciel paused the recording and shut his laptop.

"So, you do still have feelings for her…" Oobleck observed. "There's nothing wrong with that, you know. Just keep in mind that she's chosen her side."

"It's not as if I can't," Edward said, hating how harsh he sounded as he attempted to remove his emotions from the facts to little avail. "She made her choice…and we've all got to do that sooner or later ourselves."


	77. Chapter 77

_**August 1st  
**_ _ **Atlas Academy  
**_ _ **City of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **7:19 PM**_

"I'm not quite sure that they should go, not with what we've been informed of regarding Victoria Schnee and Rosalinde Varna in Vale," Emmeline bit her lip as she glanced over the information regarding the mission Team RWBY was set for. "The possibility remains high that they could still be there, particularly as we still are trying to properly track Victoria's scroll."

Spencer shook her head. "That's no reason to not let them go. It's safer than it could be, and we can't keep telling them no. They'll do anything to get a mission. They're – "

"Is it truly responsible of us, though, to let them go when it's so dangerous?" James countered. "This isn't just about that either, there's a national security aspect to it."

Glynda scowled. "Spencer's right. We don't have to tell them of the national security part, just warn them to keep looking over their shoulders in case something happens, or someone is tailing them like the last time."

"Glyns – "James started.

"Don't," She said. "Atlas can't keep being so damn secretive over everything. Do most of your own people know that the government stores most of their electronic communications? That they – "

"Yes, actually," Karissa said tersely. "Because a government contractor working with one of our national security agencies leaked documents to the public proving that, then fleeing to an obscure part of Vacuo where he was granted protection."

Glynda snorted. "Not a minute soon enough."

"Glyns…" James shook his head. "I know that things are different in Vale, but you know just as well as the rest of us do that they track people's communications – "

"We – "Glynda argued.

"This isn't productive," Emmeline said, looking at all of them sharply. "We have to decide whether or not we're going to allow a group of _teenagers_ go out into an area to acquire intelligence on the current state of Vale when two people we are investigating for serious crimes could be setting a trap."

"If we don't let them go, we can't justify it to them because all of that information is highly classified," Karissa said, albeit a bit hesitantly. "Which may very well provoke them into doing something on their own that would be inherently more dangerous."

"And the worst they're _likely_ to run into is grimm," Glynda added, sending both generals a sharp look. "I think we all know that they're able to competently handle that, to most degrees."

Emmeline sighed. "What if we delay it until we know more?"

"Because the Atlas Council is known for being efficient," Glynda scowled. "I'm not saying they aren't headstrong, or a bit overambitious, I'm not even saying that they can handle everything as if they were fully trained. What I am saying is that they've dealt with enough to be able to take whatever it is that they – "

"And if they get attacked again – "

" _If_ they get attacked again," Glynda cut across. "Doesn't that further the case for the Atlas Council to be incredibly rough with the people who attacked them?"

James considered that. "The issues with Atlesian national security still remain – "

"So long as we don't tell them anything classified, there's no issue," Spencer sighed. "There are some parts of that they could probably use to put together anything they might possibly hear to some larger scheme, but so long as they report the majority of what they see, hear, or have to deal with while they're there, I don't see how we couldn't do that ourselves."

James was silent for a moment, considering that. "Alright."

Karissa grudgingly nodded. "I suppose that, while it's risky, we have to accept that."

"So, we'll let them go?" Glynda said, and, slowly, everyone voiced agreement. "Good."

Spencer glanced at his scroll as everyone, but Karissa left the room. Several minutes passed in which all that could be heard after the closing of the door was Karissa's heels clicking against the floor. He tried not to think too much of his daughter's lashing out in class, or his father still being inexplicable when it came to be knowing what he truly thought. Nor did he want to think too much about the potential legal trouble that Ronnie was in for laws he broke for the sake of protecting Brianna. Despite the two brothers having a difficult relationship that had not gotten much better even with their attempts to be more understanding, Spencer knew that Ronnie genuinely loved Brianna hence the things he was doing. He knew also that the same was true for her, and he did not want either of them to end up in prison. Still, the matter was out of their control. So many things, it seemed, were becoming of that nature. In the darkness, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd lose everything, that it would all become out of his tenuous grasp.

"Spence?" Karissa gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you doing okay?"

He bit his lip. "I'm fine."

She considered that, but then shook her head. "No, you're not."

A heavy silence passed between them before he turned to look at her.

"'Rissa," He said quietly, wrapping his arms around her. "I know the last few months have been difficult for us, and I wish that I wasn't – "

"But you've been getting better," She said, her voice soft as she leaned into his embrace. "Just the fact that you're alive is a miracle – "

"I – "Spencer started.

"Spencer," Karissa said. "If I asked you where you think our relationship is going now – with you calm, sober, and mostly reasonable – would you say the same thing you said the first time?"

He looked at her in surprise, but then nodded. "Yes, I still want to marry you. 'Rissa, I don't know if I'm running out of time, I don't know what I'd do if I had to lose another woman I love – "

"It's been seven months since we started dating," She hesitated for a moment. "I do love you Spencer, I really do, I just don't want this to hurt either of us because we tried to move too fast."

He took that in. "I don't want that either." He eventually said. "But I don't want us to deny what we actually feel for each other. I know it's a bit soon, but I love you so much, 'Rissa, and I want to marry you."

She was silent for a long moment before kissing him softly. "I want that too."

He stared at her. "Really."

"Yes," She promised. "Yes, just…promise me something."

"What's that?" Spencer asked her a bit worriedly.

"Please stay alive," She murmured. "Please, that would be enough. I'll do whatever it takes to help you, I just need you to swear to stay alive and tell me when you need me to help you through. I don't want you to fall so hard into your addiction that you overdose again…"

He pressed an affectionate kiss to her forehead. "I promise, 'Rissa."

Her hand shook a bit as he delicately pulled a reflective, sapphire ring out of his desk drawer. "You already had one?"

"I impulsively got it a few days after I…well, after I was released from the hospital," He tucked one of her azure curls behind her ear as he slipped the ring onto her finger. "It reminded me of your hair."

She smiled. "Spencer…"

He squeezed her hand. "How long do you want to wait to actually get married? We could do it by the end of the week if that's what you want."

"November," She said. "I already know this is going to be a shock enough to your kids, and I can already imagine how the rest of your family's going to feel about it."

"My dad – "Spencer started.

"I'm not worried about Edward," She shook her head. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not even worried about Nicole – and she's a known criminal. I meant – "

"Emmeline – "

"Will probably be concerned that you're pushing yourself too far," Karissa looked at him, her brown eyes clearly worried. "And I'm sure Emmett's going to immediately want to know if you got me pregnant or something like that – "

"We've never even had sex, why would he…" Spencer trailed off. "Oh…right."

"Then Ronnie…" Karissa sighed. "I don't even know what he might think. He's probably still pissed off at me for being the one to bug his office and scroll to prove – or disprove – whatever crimes he may have committed to keep Brianna out of court."

"Your department was directed to do that by the DCCCI, and the DCCCP," Spencer tried to rationalize his brother's thought process. "How is doing your job a reason for him to get – "

"Because, unlike me, Ronnie is more concerned with having his job than actually doing it," Karissa rolled her eyes. "It's a wonder that his temper and impulsiveness haven't damned him already."

"To be fair," Spencer said. "It did cause him trouble when he was a senator, before the last president before my father put him in charge of the state department after the death of the previous head, and probably ruined any chance he ever had of running for president himself. And it causes him and Brianna a lot of problems, although I can't say I'm going to be thrilled to – "

"I know," Karissa bit her lip. "I probably shouldn't be too hard on them."

"I keep trying that, and it doesn't go that way," Spencer laughed dryly. "Not that being less difficult on everyone is easy for me. I can't stand myself for what I've brought on myself half the time, I can't stand the fact that I keep secrets from my children, that I've done things that I know are either causing trouble for them now or will later – Natalie's gotten so defensive because of the rumors surrounding why I ended up in the hospital that she's started lashing out at anyone and everyone – because I can't tell them the truth."

"If you're suggesting that you're a bad person, you're wrong," Karissa knew her words were a bit sharp, but her voice was gentle. "You're better than you give yourself credit for."

"I'm not proud of what I've let myself…" Spencer trailed off, struggling to reconcile his feelings. "I'm not proud of what I've let myself become, and – "

"Spencer, I'm not going to tell you something just because I want to make you feel better," Karissa sighed. "I do want you to feel better, but I'm not going to lie to you."

He pulled her in close, then kissing her softly. "I love you…"

Karissa smiled weakly. "Spencer, look at where you are and look at where you started. The fact that you're alive is a miracle – I'm not going to deny that. If I could give you any peace of mind, that would be enough. So far as we know, tomorrow will arrive. Let's do the best we can, let's – "

"Let's just live…" Spencer murmured.

Karissa gently tugged off his jacket. "We can focus on that right now."

He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You…you think we should do it here?"

"We don't have to at all," She said, turning a bit pink. "But you're right that we never have, and, since we're engaged and already sleep together…"

Spencer hesitated. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

She pressed a hand to his cheek. "Of course I am."

Spencer smiled, feeling more alive than he had in what felt like years. "Okay."

* * *

"Well, does anyone else have any _real_ solutions for dealing with Victoria?" Elizabeth stared at the security council almost incredulously. "Well?"

"How are any of us supposed to have a clue?" Winchester snapped. "You act as if we should know everything when you yourself don't have a practical plan to implement. You are a hypocrite to multiple degrees, _Madame_ Morell."

"I did give a suggestion, which is that we track her scroll," Elizabeth haughtily replied. "She wasn't on an obscure data plan, we could activate a tracker -"

"Rather simply, actually," Blake added. "I believe the process simply requires downloading known data and her scroll's known serial number to our geo-tracing systems."

Winchester's eyes narrowed. "That violates -"

"It is not a breach of civilian privacy," Ronnie calmly informed him. "As Victoria Schnee has -

"She has not committed any crimes that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt," Kiara reminded her. "In that sense, Winchester is correct."

"But we can justify tracking her by deep suspicion into her colluding against the Atlesian Council with Ashlynn Schnee," Ronnie countered. "And, so, we have every reason to track Victoria, even if only temporarily."

Tara Sparks sighed. "He and Madame Morell are right. This is a serious issue, and it must be dealt with accordingly."

"Madame Morell is seeking for any reason to exact revenge on Ashlynn Schnee – "Winchester argued.

"I am not – "Elizabeth protested.

"Yes, you are!" Winchester sent her a sharp look. "With all due respect, Madame Morell, this issue is immensely close to you and you should not – "

"I merely brought it up and, after deliberation, made a suggestion towards how we should handle it," Elizabeth forced her voice to remain even despite herself. "I would appreciate it if you would recognize that."

Winchester considered responding for a moment but then decided to remain silent.

"Now," Elizabeth said, forcing herself to be almost eerily calm. "I have made my proposal clear, does anyone else have any reasonable or helpful suggestions?"

"Yes," Winchester said curtly. "Your recusal from these matters – a full recusal."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "That's unnecessary. So long as I – "

"If you push the kingdom to the brink of war over your – "Winchester argued.

"Madame Morell is not and has not done anything that is irrational or that could put us in a position like that," Ronnie said sharply. "Frankly, I don't think we've ever done enough to get to the core of the problems we've been facing."

"Interesting that you would say that," Winchester said. "Considering that you are under scrutiny still for possible infringement of the law, and no one's ever going to forget the issues with your temperament – "

"Oh, what do you know – "Ronnie snapped.

"Secretary Ciel," Blake said. "You're proving his point."

Ronnie scowled at Winchester. "I did not infringe upon or break the law."

Winchester raised an eyebrow. "Ironically, the media seems to think differently."

"And people are free to believe whatever they like," Ronnie replied irritably. "That's part of why our society survives."

Kiara shook her head. "Your pride is overpowering sometimes, Secretary Ciel. As is your general refusal to hold your tongue. You're a genius, but you're impulsive and arrogant."

Ronnie forced himself to be calm, his hands shaking. "I believe that is not the subject at hand here."

"Thank you," Elizabeth said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Now, we need to authorize, beyond more thorough tracking of both women's scrolls and communications, interrogation of Watts, Merlot, and perhaps even Gelè to determine what's missing, if anything, in the case involving Fall, Victoria Schnee, and Varna."

"That sounds rational," Blake said, glancing at her a bit nervously. "We have to start somewhere, at the very least."

"We need Madame Mar, General Ciel, and General Ironwood to approve this as well," Kiara said slowly. "And, as they're currently discussing matters regarding Atlas Academy students and possible national security issues with their mission, so this will have to wait."

Sparks nodded. "Someone write up a formal proposal, and we'll vote upon it soon."

Elizabeth pursued her lips, feeling a bit patronized. "Reasonable arrangement. Meeting adjourned."

Winchester was the first to leave, feeling more than a bit irritated with Morell for not the first time. A moment passed after, a sense of discomfort amongst all of them. No one was sure what to think, what to say. The Council was a mess, they all knew, and none of them were sure that they were ready to take a full stand against the true force behind what they were dealing with. The ones who knew were more conflicted than those who did not. It was not until Dr. Ciel stepped into the room that the others, apart from Ronnie, Elizabeth, and Blake left. As soon as the doors closed behind Kiara, Elizabeth turned off all transmissions, all recordings, all video to the room. She began to pace shortly after, writing on her scroll furiously and ignoring the fact that the others were watching her.

"Lizzie," Brianna finally said. "Are you alright?"

She paused, then shook her head. "No, of course I'm not."

Ronnie looked at her in concern. "There's something you're not telling us."

Elizabeth bit her lip. "Sometimes there are things that are better left unsaid."

"That's not like you," Blake remarked. "Usually, you assume that you're right and say exactly what you're thinking no matter how many enemies you make and continue to."

Elizabeth looked to Ronnie. "You know what I mean, perhaps better than anyone else."

He squeezed Brianna's hand in slight anxiety. "You're right, I do."

Brianna raised an eyebrow. "What exactly does that mean?"

"The two of you are in the same position as I am, as all of us who know the truth are…" Elizabeth sighed heavily, running a hand through her hair. "We have to be careful…but we're treading dangerous lines in doing so, and we have to cling to who we are and what we stand for – "

"I know we're lucky to be alive right now," Ronnie said, sharing a brief glance with Brianna. "But that doesn't mean we have to be non-stop obsessed with every little thing – "

"That is not what I'm saying," Elizabeth said, crossing her arms. "I'm saying that if we start lying to the people about everything, then we're betraying everything that we are, that we stand for."

"So, you're worried that – "Blake started.

"It's not only that – we have every damn thing in this world to lose," She snapped. "But we also have every damn thing in this world to gain – "

"Lizzie – "Ronnie said as gently as he could.

"Isn't this enough?" Brianna asked her, and Elizabeth bit her lip. "Lizzie, you have everything, what more could you want? Really, isn't this enough?"

She looked away. "I am – "

"You'll never be satisfied," Blake said bluntly. "Never, Lizzie. I know you, and, even before what you went through, you've never been satisfied."

She took in a sharp breath. "How could you possibly – "

"Well, you will never be satisfied, will you?" Blake shook his head as he looked at her. "Nothing's ever enough for you, is it, _Elizabeth_?"

In the end, they got no response – merely the clearly upset clicking of her heels as she left the room.


	78. Chapter 78

_**August 14th  
**_ _ **City of Vale  
**_ _ **Vale  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **8:39 PM**_

Blake leaned against the wall, forcing her hands to stop shaking as she listened down the alleyway. Knowing that Adam was there was enough to make her skin crawl, but what made it worse was that she knew Yang would be out from inside the club soon enough. If she saw him, there would be blood spilt. There had, so far, not been any confrontations apart from a few grimm which had been easily done away with. This was different – vastly so. Adam, Blake, and Yang's fates were intertwined now, and she imagined that he had it in for many politicians in Atlas. Though she had not admitted it, least of all to Caitlin Morell and Casseia Ciel, Adam had it in for Elizabeth Morell and Emmeline Ciel because of their damn near hardline positions on crime. After what both women had seen and been through in their lives, Blake couldn't blame either of them for their positions, but the fact remained that Adam wanted them dead for it.

And they were not the only ones.

Atlesian and Valerian politicians were not people viewed favorably by the faunus, but most had no feelings of violence towards them. The attacks on members of the Atlesian and, on occasion, Valerian Councils had been almost exclusively enacted by members of the White Fang – people she was starting to recognize as terrorists. She felt horrible every time she thought of her past, and sometimes she felt that she was losing herself as being from Menagerie and was instead becoming an Atlesian. That was not who she wanted to be, but she couldn't help but think that was what she was becoming. Everything about who she was now seemed to be the polar opposite of who she once was. She knew she could see more clearly, she knew she was a better person than she had been, but she was still worried about whether or not she would be proud of who she was becoming. Could she still be herself and Atlesian, if that were to happen?

Shaking herself out, she climbed up onto the window ledge just above her, then using the balconies above it to scale the building. Yang had promised to call her as soon as she was done with dealing with the people in the club, and she believed her. It was all she could pray that Yang would not find herself distracted by Adam if she were to run into him. Pushing those thoughts aside as well, Blake also set aside Weiss and Ruby's venture to the Schnee Dust Company headquarters in Vale to get as much information from there as possible despite Weiss having no claim to her aunt's company. The heiress was her baby cousin, Courtney Schnee. The facts remained that things had changed, but Ruby and Weiss had told them that they were going to try and game the system to get what they wanted out of it. There was valuable information in the company's systems, they knew, but it wasn't at their discretion like it had been when Weiss was the heiress.

Straightening herself up as she reached the top of the building, she took in a deep breath. The slightly cool evening air felt good, especially in comparison to the heat of the day. August in Vale could be a nightmare, and that had been proven by the humidity and warmth of the day time. The amount of times they had felt the need to step into coffee shops and stake out places through other buildings was almost laughable. Weiss was not unused to the extreme temperatures, as Atlas was known for having every extreme of temperature imaginable on a normal scale, but even she was cranky about it. Ruby was the best about it, but Yang kept swearing every time she felt too much sweat, cursing Atlas for making her go soft.

It seemed like a common thread amongst the four of them.

Atlas wasn't all bad, but it wasn't all good either.

At the end of the day, none of them were sure what they really thought about the northernmost kingdom – and particularly when it came to politics and the obsession with class and growing business and military.

 _Still_ , Blake admitted _, it could be a lot worse_.

"Well, looks like I'm not the only one who likes the quiet," An all too familiar voice said, and Blake immediately drew her weapons as she turned to face the man who rolled his eyes and flicked cigar ash to the side. "I'm not in the mood for a fight, kitty. I'm trying to find a way into Atlas because, as I explained to your red headed friend, I wanted nothing to do with Ashlynn Schnee and her bullshit. The money wasn't worth the crap, believe me."

Blake retained her stance, although she was tempted to let it go. "I thought you were dead."

"I lie, steal, cheat, and survive," He replied. "Barely this time, by any account, but I managed to get back to the main city. I'm a lucky man."

"You're a manipulative –"

"I'm not unreasonable, sweetheart, you can let your guard down," He rolled his eyes and laughed. "I'm past the point of fighting you and your little friends – I have more pressing concerns. Do you imagine that the president of Atlas will be too thrilled to find out that I'm involved with his youngest daughter?"

"If I were a parent, I wouldn't want my child involved with someone like you," Blake snapped. "You're a sadist –"

"And you're an ex terrorist," He countered. "You and I are no worse than the other."

Blake lost her grip on her gun for just a moment at the jab, scrambling to pick it up and then re-setting her weapons on her back.

"I am better than you," She said, although she couldn't help but be unsure. "I don't kill for the sake of appealing to my sadistic side."

He flicked his cigar off the roof and then stepped towards her, dusting off his coat. "I don't enjoy killing, I enjoy being alive. Sacrifices have to be made, you know. You've compromised any chance you could ever have of being accepted as a reliable source in Atlas because of your past, and I have done the same. How are we any different?"

Blake bit her lip. "Because I at least try to be a decent human being."

"But you're not a human," He said, and her cat ears pressed into her head. "I can tell that being in Atlas has started to change you. Even your identity is changing because you want to fit in, you want to be accepted for who you are in the kingdom that so many you are close to are from. Tell me, how is that working out for you?"

Blake crossed her arms. "I haven't changed that much."

"So you tell yourself," He sighed, his green eyes temporarily sympathetic. "I'd be careful and watch my step if I were you. Things aren't looking pretty, and they're not going to get any better."

Blake clenched her fists. "Roman Torchwick of all people is lecturing me about decency?"

"By any count, you've probably killed and/or injured more people than I ever have," He shook his head as an airship approached. "Keep that in the back of your mind, kitty kitty."

Blake scowled at the airship as it approached, her eyes narrowing only further as he quickly stepped onto it, and it took off, presumably, for Atlas.

"Blake?" Yang hopped up onto the roof, sounding half breathless. "You okay? What was that? Where did that ship come from?"

Blake raised her gun to shoot the ship, then realizing that she'd be proving the man's point.

"You don't want to know," Blake said darkly. "Believe me, that's the last thing you want to know about."

* * *

"How in the hell could you go that far?" Edward stared at his son and daughter in law in horror. "Ronnie, pulling in favors is one thing – a highly illegal thing, albeit – but going ahead and wiping – "

"Oh for god's sake –" Emmeline groaned. "Dad, we've dealt with this before."

"The problem remains –"

"This was supposed to be the Ciel family actually speaking, right?" Emmett gave his wife a gentle squeeze. "How come it turns into the same bloodbath that it does when my family tries to actually speak to each other?"

Emmeline sighed. "I don't know…"

Edward turned back to Ronnie after a few seconds in silence.

"Do you have any idea what this could do to you if anyone ever finds out?" Edward questioned. "Your career as a politician ended because of your temper and impulsiveness, and now, as the head of the state department, you continue to act rashly –"

"Don't criticize me when you had everything to do with Nicole being released without warning," Ronnie snapped. "You really think that you're that much better than us?"

"I never said that," Edward matched his son's tone perfectly. "You know that full well. As for your sister – "

"You had her released," Brianna said bluntly. "Or you suggested that you would like it, and some people went ahead and did so."

"I didn't know she was released until any of you did," Edward shook his head. "And, to be honest, I wish they still had her behind bars. She's a known murderer –"

"Who is?" Spencer paused awkwardly as he, Karissa, Natalie, Percival, and Matthew stepped into the room. "Ronnie –"

"It's good to see you," He said, vastly relieved that he was there to stop the argument. "I…Brie?"

Brianna bit her lip, pulling her hand away from the countertop and nervously crossing her arms upon noticing that she had started to freeze it over with her semblance.

"You okay?" Ronnie asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Brie…"

She stared at him for a moment, then wrapping her arms tightly around him, feeling completely horrible and a bit sick.

He gently stroked her hair as he turned back to his brother. "So, you're looking better."

Natalie looked at her father in confusion. "What does he mean by that, daddy? Is –"

"Nattie, I know I usually don't make you and your brothers come with me for things like this," Spencer said, being careful how he phrased it "But there's something that everyone has a right to know."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "What exactly are you talking about?"

Brianna glanced to Spencer but then smiled weakly. "You got your government position back."

"No," Spencer said, then shaking his head. "Even given the chance, I'd rather stay at Atlas Academy as a professor."

Ronnie looked at him in confusion as he adjusted his glasses. "Then what are you talking about?"

Spencer turned to his kids before the rest of his family. "Well, 'Rissa…" Spencer smiled as he kissed her cheek. "'Rissa and I are engaged."

"Are you going to have another kid too?" Emmett asked, half-jokingly even as Emmeline swatted his arm. "What? Emmy, that's a serious question!"

"The answer is no," Karissa told him. "Not right now."

"Not for a few years, at least," Spencer said. "If we ever decide to –"

"What about mom?" Natalie asked quietly. "Daddy, how can –"

"She's not coming back, she's been gone for years," Spencer said, chewing at the inside of his cheek. "I love Karissa, and I'm going to marry her."

"When?" Brianna asked. "Soon, or –"

"November," Karissa said, squeezing Spencer's hand. "I know that might be bit much to ask, since your son will be –"

"It'll be fine," Brianna said, not worried about taking a young baby with her and Ronnie to a wedding and more so worried about the possibility of ending up in prison if what truly happened between the PENNY Project and Ronnie's reckless protection of her. "It's not that much, I'm sure Ronnie and I will be able to make it work."

"Of course we can," Ronnie agreed, glancing to his father who shook his head. "We can live a normal life, even with how much we bury ourselves in work."

"None of you get it!" Natalie snapped. "This is…what if mom's like Emmett and Cristal were? What if she's still alive? What if she's just missing?"

"Nattie –" Spencer started, hoping to calm her.

"No!" The young girl's silver eyes flared, and then she ran off to another part of the townhouse. "I…I…"

Edward grimaced a bit. "She seems pretty upset."

Spencer sighed. "I don't know why she is, I don't know why she's being like this –"

"She went to find Cas," Emmett said, assuming that based on the direction she ran off to. "She'll calm her down, the two of them are reasonably close."

Percival sucked on his thumb a bit, upset by his sister's outburst. "Is Nattie okay?"

"She will be," Spencer promised him. "Matt, can you and your brother let all of us talk?"

Matt nodded and then dragged his little brother off in the same direction Natalie had gone. "Come on."

An awkward silence passed amongst them until they were all sure that the kids were out of earshot.

"I was hoping that the two of you would get married," Edward finally said. "The two of you do each other a lot of good, and I really do think, Karissa, that you're helping him stay alive."

"I still don't know if I'm running of time," Spencer said, glancing at the evening sky for a moment. "But I don't…I want to live, I love 'Rissa, I love my kids, and I don't want anything to happen that would hurt –"

"It'll be fine," Karissa said, worriedly looking to him. "Spencer, this is a good thing, and –"

"Listen to her if you don't want to listen to us," Ronnie sent him a sharp look. "Don't bury yourself in whatever shame you think you deserve –"

"My semblance drowns me and everyone close to me in bad luck –" Spencer started.

"But your semblance isn't you," Emmeline reminded him. "Mine literally stops time for everyone except for me –"

"And mine is the same as everyone else in the biological Schnee family –" Emmett added.

"I understand," Brianna bit off, and Spencer looked to her in surprise. "I know you, Ronnie, and I have a strained relationship at times, but I know what it feels like to not have control over your semblance and to be afraid of what it might do. My semblance is so heavily tied to my emotions that when I get upset I…well…"

Spencer stared at her in shock as she tapped her foot lightly against the floor and quite a bit of it froze over.

"It's not…" Brianna sighed. "I hate it more often than not, but I've…"

"We're working through it," Ronnie said, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "And that's more than enough."

Karissa embraced Spencer tightly. "We'll figure it out, Spence, we will."

"And if I'm running out of time –" He started.

"You aren't," Emmeline said. "Not so long as you keep fighting."

Edward nodded. "Your sister's right."

"I…" Spencer sighed. "I hope that's right."

"Sometimes even that's enough," Karissa said. "And, with the way things are right now with the Council and with the war…hope's probably one of the things we need the most."

* * *

"Cinder…" Salem tapped her increasingly long nails against the table in the meeting room. "There is something in particular that I need from you. But, it will require that you…briefly retouch with your past as…Ashlynn Schnee."

Cinder pursed her lips. "What exactly are you suggesting?"

"Apart from dealing with your…direct family," Salem said slowly. "I need you to deal with President Ciel and his family, which we both know is connected to yours through marriage."

Cinder nodded. "Are you asking for an assassination?"

Salem laughed. "Not at the moment."

"At the moment?" Emerald questioned, shaking a bit upon Salem turning to look at her. "Sorry."

"My Queen…" Tyrion drawled. "If we do assassinate President Ciel, may I do the honors? I do quite like those hats he's known for wearing, and I wouldn't mind stealing one."

"You will not assassinate Edward Ciel when and if that time comes," Salem said sharply. "Cinder will do so, and I can imagine that Emerald would have no trouble…stealing a hat from his seeming collection for you."

A heavy silence passed amongst them, no one daring to speak and no one daring to so much as flinch.

"There is something else I have found recently that will be of interest to all of you," Salem motioned a seer towards her. "I thought he was dead, swallowed by a grimm, but as it turns out…"

Cinder swore under her breath upon a man familiar to all of them apart from Tyrion. "Roman…"

"He's attempting to make his way to Atlas, to reunite with Neopolitan," Salem informed them, noting it upon seeing Emerald shiver a bit out of the corner of her eye while Mercury flinched. "Who, as you all know, is President Ciel's youngest daughter."

"Unless you're to have a sister," Tyrion cackled despite the glare Cinder sent him. "What? He could have gotten your mother pregnant –"

"My mother is not pregnant," Cinder snapped. "She refused to have another child after Emmett and Cristal were born. She wouldn't put up with it."

"Enough," Salem said, putting her hand up. "I am not going to deal with all of you arguing like children. We have actual issues, do not confuse your personal issues with what we should all be concerned with."

Mercury shrugged. "They're pretty –"

"I will remind all of you once again that I will not put up with incompetence," Salem said, drawing her words out menacingly. "And I will also remind all of you that, as soon as you put your desires before my own, that they will be lost to you."

Silence passed once again, the tension in the room all but palpable.

"Cinder," Salem finally spoke again. "Your mother and Varna will be here in a few weeks, and we need you back by the beginning of September. Soon, I need you to go to Atlas and inform President Ciel that, if he does not resign or give in to our desires and goals, we are prepared to kill him and his entire family. There is a heavy price to pay for crossing me, and I have no trouble with making that clear."

Cinder grimaced a bit in spite of herself. "What about Casseia –"

"Your niece?" Salem questioned. "You care for her?"

"She's like a daughter to me!" Cinder exclaimed, then regretting her emotional response. "Please, can we keep her alive at the very least?"

Salem considered that. "Perhaps."

Cinder stared at her. " _Perhaps_?"

"Cinder," Salem said sharply. "If she agrees to join our cause after her family is gone, then of course she may live. But, if not…"

Cinder flinched as Salem snapped her fingers and used the seer to show her a dead woman.

"There are consequences for actions," Salem informed her. "And if she's complacent with the Atlesian Council or actively fights against us, then she will be killed. There is simply no way around it. With the Ciel family out of the way, we'll leave the Schnees divided, and Ozpin will have lost several key allies. Some who were even family."

"Sounds like that'll work well," Mercury remarked with an overcompensating smirk. "Considering how powerful the Ciel family is in Atlas. Don't they hold more government positions than any other single family in the entire kingdom?"

"Pretty much," Emerald said, flicking a knife into the air and then nonchalantly catching it as an attempt to distract herself from what they were truly discussing. "They're a serious threat because of that."

Salem nodded faintly. "Even at your ages, you two are reasonably observant."

Cinder turned to her. "How soon do you want me to speak to President Ciel?"

"As soon as possible," Salem replied. "But make sure you've found a way to disable the security systems and cameras so that this can work. Otherwise, I have no doubt that people like Elizabeth Morell will lock you back up behind bars – just as they have to Watts and Merlot, even to Jacques Gelè."

Cinder pulled out her scroll. "Turns out that Watts has been invaluable to us all."

Salem considered that. "That's fair."

"I will make it clear to the president that things are not going to end well for his family if they continue their…fighting," Cinder shook her head. "Their time will be running out if they don't bend. They act and write like they're running out of time…but it may very well be the case. They can't keep doing what they have been. I thought that killing his wife would have been enough…but it wasn't. It only made them more and more forcibly against us."

"Well, then," Salem said with a faint, sadistic smile. "I think we know what we'll have to do when the time comes. And, soon enough, we'll be even closer to what we want. It's in sight…we cannot let it leave that."


	79. Chapter 79

_**August 26th  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
10:34 PM**_

Qrow sighed as he watched Glynda continue to write in a notebook, checking on her kids out of the corner of her eye while James focused on the twins. "Glynda," He eventually said. "How do you write like you're running out of time? Things aren't looking good, but they're not completely –"

"I want there to be a written record of my thoughts, of what I fought for and believed in – just in case we…don't survive this," She said, glancing up. "I don't want the twins to never know me, I want them to be able to, even if they can't remember me, know who I am."

Qrow shook his head. "I don't even know if I'll be able to be a good parent to my daughter. Win's due on the first of September, I'm terrified. I know she's nervous too, but –"

"You'll be fine," Glynda told him. "The fact that you're concerned is a good thing, considering that it means you care for your wife and daughter. If you didn't, you wouldn't be worried."

Qrow was silent for a long moment, but then turned to James.

"If you let her push herself too far when she starts traveling for military work again –" Qrow started.

"Winter is more than capable of taking care of herself," James told him. "If she wants to take orders to travel, then, as soon as she is certain she's ready, I'm not going to stop her. You can't try to protect her, she can protect herself. Besides the point is the fact that, I'm sure, she'll be pissed if you smother her like that."

"She'll drown herself in her work, given half the chance –" Qrow countered.

"No, she won't," Glynda rolled her eyes. "Qrow, are you really that stupid? Things started to change when the two of you got married – even before she found out she was pregnant. She wants things to be alright between the two of you, and she wants your family to be safe. She's not going to distance herself for the sake of making herself feel better. You're more likely to do that than her, to be completely honest. Your obsession with your semblance is even more unhealthy than Spencer's ever has been – and he never quite knew why bad luck was drawn to him like a magnet."

Qrow scoffed. "Spencer Ciel's a drug addict who has already overdosed once and he's only in his thirties. He's younger than me, and is –"

"Yes, but, in contrast, he actually fights what he's addicted to," Glynda snapped, having found herself reasonably close with Spencer since she had begun living in Atlas. "Whereas you just let the alcohol drown out whatever pain you're feeling. Do you really think that being constantly drunk around your daughter is going to make her life easier? Because having a distant, alcoholic father is what I had, and my father and I resent each other to this day. Do you really want to be in the same position? I refused to invite my father to my wedding, I have consistently refused to allow him to meet either of his grandchildren –"

"Glynda –" Qrow started, sounding both tired and exasperated.

"She's right," James said, sending the other man a sharp look. "Spencer's close with his kids, he tries to be there for them even though he could have chosen just to spend the rest of his time high after his wife died. But he didn't. He quit his job, sure, but he's a professor at Atlas Academy now. He's engaged to a woman that he loves and who loves him, and he has done his best to make amends with his father, with his brother –"

"Well, maybe he doesn't carry guilt for the death of the mother of his –" Qrow snapped.

"He does blame himself for Arianna's murder," Glynda reminded him, a bit of condescension in her voice. "But he never let it consume him, at least, not in the same way you have let Summer Rose's murder consume you. The irony abounds when you realize that both women were killed by the same person – Cinder. She really does have it in for us, doesn't she?"

Qrow went silent, unsure how to respond.

"Qrow," James said, trying to be as understanding as he could. "There's nothing wrong with being worried for your family, because I do the same every day – anyone with kids, whether or not they're adults, feels that way. But you can't keep treating life like a game you have to win. You're going to get yourself killed if you keep acting in the way you do – you cannot protect everyone from everything that threatens them."

Glynda set her journal aside and then brought one of her babies into her arms. "It's not particularly comforting, not when you're looking for any form of consolation, but the fact remains that this is war. Not everyone is going to make it out alive, and we can't stop living because of that. None of us really know how long we're going to have, so we have to live. We have to just live, because, if we don't, then what are we fighting for? This is why I don't forget to write - because, at the end of the day, we're not going to get to choose who else lives, who dies, or who tells our stories. And if we want to have any say...we'll have to write parts of them ourselves. We might be running out of time, I agree, but that's no reason to let go or to give into hate, fear, and spite. In this world, what we're able to cling to is enough..."

* * *

"How's my mother?" The amber eyed woman smirked upon the Atlesian president tensing as he looked up. "Really, the last person left at the Council's offices this late? They're asking for you to be assassinated, aren't they? We're in a time of war, and they leave the president alone?"

Ciel scowled. "There are security cameras, systems, part of the national guard –"

"The systems and cameras are offline," She informed him with a smirk. "You might have Watts in prison, but his work has been invaluable to us."

Ciel stood up, although this was not particularly intimidating as he was the same height as her within her heels. "I –"

Cinder activated her maiden powers to freeze his scroll, startling him. "You're going to…hear me out."

Ciel set down his scroll and then motioned her to sit down. "What are you after? How can you keep doing what you do?"

Cinder glanced around the office, her eye being caught by a photograph of Emmeline, Emmett, and three girls – the eldest of whom she knew to be Casseia.

"Your family has more power than any single other family in the kingdom of Atlas, arguably the world," Cinder tossed her ashy hair over her shoulder. "Of course, generally speaking, the family of the Atlesian president regardless of the situation has that kind of power. The difference is that the power is all but preserved, in your case. Your eldest married a Schnee, your second eldest married one of the lead scientists on a project that she'll never be brought to justice over, your third child…well is he even still alive?"

Ciel flinched. "Spencer is more than fine, he's engaged to Karissa Mar –"

"Karissa Mar?" She questioned, an eyebrow raised. "The head of the DFAMA? Interesting…seems like the power in your family's hands is getting cemented even more. Oh! And your youngest child, Nicole, or, _Neo_ , as I call her, is in love with Roman Torchwick –"

"Even if that's true, Torchwick's dead –"

"And you'd be wrong," Cinder said, laughing as Ciel lost his composure for a brief moment and a look of horror crossed his face. "Oh, believe me, he's more than alive. In fact, if things went his way, I imagine that he's in this kingdom right now. Neo's been free for awhile now, thankfully, and I know she's disappeared into the haze – probably to the city of Mantle – but, at the same time…"

"What does this have to do with anything?" Ciel snapped. "Everyone knows that you're insane, why should I listen to – let alone _believe_ – anything that you say?"

Cinder examined her nails, feigning deep thought, for a long moment.

"Well…" She said. "For starters, I'm not really here to make pleasantries because you and my mother were sleeping together, to hell with the fact that the information on that isn't public. No, I'm here because I have to be. You see, your family is one of the greatest…threats to the woman I work for –"

"Salem is the incarnation of –" Ciel started.

"Yes, yes, believe whatever it is that you wish," Cinder sighed. "You see, the primary reason for that is the power within your family – political and social. I'm going to highlight why before I explain why I'm here. For starters, as I said, your eldest married a Schnee and has had three children with him. That daughter of yours, Emmeline Cecilia, is also a general in the Atlas military, and sits in the DFAMA and its national security council. Her husband, Emmett Arthur, is the current COO of the Schnee Dust Company."

Ciel raised an eyebrow. "You seem to have an uncanny obsession with the people you have –"

"Not important," Cinder said dismissively. "Then, of course, Ronnie Michael, your eldest son, is a former senator, like yourself, who, unlike yourself, has quite the temper and is impulsive. Furthermore, he was placed by your predecessor as the head of the State department in spite of that fact…although, of course, his political career has been damned for it. His wife, Brianna Leah, is not only a doctor, but is tasked to look over ethics in her field. Ironically, she's responsible for what happened to that android your kingdom developed outside of its ethics laws."

Edward crossed his arms. "I don't agree with all of what they've done, but they're not bad people –"

"None of us truly are," Cinder replied. "It all depends upon perception. Like your two eldest, I'm seeing that you, too, tend to assume that you're right when –"

"I am more than flawed, and have made many, many mistakes when it has come to not only running this country but in some of the laws I've supported for principle not realism," Ciel spoke calmly, the familiar feeling of regret rising once more for ignorance – a feeling he strongly associated with Victoria. "And the same is true in some of the choices I've made in my personal life."

Cinder smirked. "My mother, interesting…"

"The one thing you've made clear you don't understand is the fact that there's a point when every person can be blinded by what they want to believe," Ciel shook his head. "And we've all gotten or will get lost in that at some point."

Cinder rolled her eyes. "Your youngest son seems to be in that position, considering his addiction to diamorphine in any form. Oxycontin all the way through heroin…it's tragic."

"How do you know about that?" Edward questioned, his voice shaking a bit despite his attempts to be perfectly calm. "Every citizen of the kingdom of Atlas has highly sealed medical records that cannot be opened apart from themselves, two or three people they have given express permission to, and their doctor or –"

"Once again," Cinder said, gesturing to her scroll in one of her hands. "I've used the technology that Watts has given to people like me to…bypass things that the kingdom of Atlas tries to keep hidden. Believe me, I can access almost anything I want. Including the temporarily stored records of what's been wiped and kept – and by whom. That's how I know that Ronnie is responsible for his wife being protected from the law – and the way he did it prevented himself from being traced. Or, almost."

Edward narrowed his eyes. "I am not going to give up due process of law because you reveal something about my family –"

"I wouldn't expect you to," Cinder said, then laughing a bit in a sickening manner. "No, I have a better way. With Spencer marrying Karissa Mar…that places a kink into my plans…but, I suppose, it won't be that difficult to add her to my list."

Ciel stared in disbelief as she pulled out a piece of paper and slapped it onto his desk.

"This is the list of all the people I am to kill," She informed him with a faint smirk. "Because, frankly, everyone on that list is a threat. I don't care that you'll have this, because you'll never release it out of fear. So many people you know and care about are on that list…beyond yourself. Emmeline Ciel, your daughter, Ronnie and Spencer Ciel, your sons, Emmett Schnee, Brianna Ciel, and…"

"No," Ciel said in abject horror. "You can't –"

"Karissa Mar, your son and daughters in law," Cinder penned the name as she went on, ignoring his words. "Then, Casseia Ciel-Schnee, your granddaughter. Blake Adel, the head of the DOJ. Elizabeth Morell, the head of the Atlesian National Security Council and a high-ranking member of the DFAMA…"

"Cas is only eighteen in September –" Ciel exclaimed.

"I don't want to kill Casseia, she's like a daughter to me," Cinder said, then shaking her head. "I genuinely love and care for her, and I don't want any harm to befall her. I don't even care that I'm supposed to kill her, I never will. And, likely, I'll never have to because she'll join –"

"She never would –" Ciel said with conviction.

"If the rest of her family is dead…then she most certainly will," Cinder sighed as she took a step towards him. "But, they might not even have to die. _You_ might not even have to die. However, if you don't step down as president or give into us and get your family to as well…then I will have no problem killing you."

Ciel grabbed his scroll, upon which most of the ice had melted off, as soon as she left the room and called his most trusted advisor, Dr. Brianna Oobleck.

"President Ciel," She said, sounding a bit tired. "What is it? Has something happened?"

"I'll send you the details in a minute," He told her. "But I need you to send this to the major news organizations and I will send it to the DCCCP, DCCCI, DOJ, DFAMA, DLNLE, and the state department. Cinder was here, I don't know how, and has all but declared intent for a coup…and the murder of several people on the Council."

Oobleck took in a sharp breath. "That's going to be a major problem for us all."

"The public has a right to know," Ciel said, glancing at the list. "Especially since it seems to indicate her intent to attack not only the Council, but the world headquarters of the SDC, the cities of Mantle, Atlas, and Lowell –"

"I agree," Oobleck said, then sighing. "I'll redact what is unnecessary for the public to see, but I agree that they should know the basics. This world is getting more and more dangerous, and leaving people in the dark and with false hope is just as bad as letting them die or leaving them to the mercy of people like Fall…"

* * *

"I don't want to be here!" The heiress shouted. "How the fuck could you bring me back from Shade? My teammates are still there, I'm the leader, I'm supposed to –"

"Coco," Allison said irritably. "You know full well that you would have been in serious danger in Vacuo because of Varna."

"Oh, of course!" Coco exclaimed. "Mommy and daddy can drag their twenty – nearly twenty-one – year old daughter back home because she could be in danger. That makes perfect sense if it were them! After all, mommy's the CEO of a major fashion label in the world, and daddy's the head of the DOJ! Atlesians…we really are soft, aren't we?"

Blake and Allison shared a long look, both of them concerned by their daughter's anger.

"Coco," Blake said as calmly as he could in an attempt to reason with her. "I know that you're upset, and I would be too, but you have to understand that we can't ignore the facts. The kingdom of Vacuo has more than simply hostile relations with Atlas at the moment, a prime minister that is starting to assert herself as a dictator, and the only reason the legislators have been unable to authorize a motion to leave Vacuo is because of the Dust deposits there – many of them care more about money than they do the protection of people. The DFAMA, DLNLE, etc do not have the power to that independently or even off of orders from the president because of the way our kingdom's government is structured – in short, to prevent the formation of a central power block by one person or a small group culminating in the same fate that is likely to befall Vacuo –"

"Oh, for god's sake!" Coco shrieked. "I'm an adult, stop treating me like a child!"

"When you stop acting like one, then we can talk," Allison replied, accurately mirroring her daughter's tone. "Because, frankly –"

"Mommy, I –" Lily paused, but then ran over to her sister and embraced her. "Coco! I didn't realize you were going to b e home!"

"I didn't either…" The heiress muttered, though she embraced her sister nonetheless. "How are you?"

Lily smiled. "Great!"

"Lily, classes start again on the first, you need to start getting more regular sleep," Allison said tiredly. "Get your water, and then go to sleep. Your father and I need to talk."

The young girl stared at her mother, but then nodded and quickly did what she said. "Night!" She chirped, and Blake silently cursed himself for letting her have coffee earlier in the day.

Coco all but collapsed into the chaise lounge, her weapon and purse in her room with her scroll. "Damn it…" She muttered.

"Coco, we should have given you more warning but some of this information came in suddenly," Blake started to pace. "And Varna has more than a few connexions to people who –"

"If she's connected to Watts, then all the better," Coco said bitterly. "She breaks him out of jail, then I can kill him. It's about as simple as that."

Allison scowled. "That wasn't the point –"

"You two are afraid of everything!" Coco exclaimed in exasperation, her brown eyes flaring. "You're paranoid!"

Blake stared at her for a long moment. "Coco…"

"I don't want to be weak…" She said, her voice breaking a bit in spite of herself. "I didn't want to leave because leaving was a sign of weakness. I didn't fight back, I didn't try to stay and do what's right in Vacuo, and, in a way, leaving has not only left my teammates out to dry but has validated to Varna that the kingdom of Atlas is afraid of her and is more than willing to fight a war over it."

"We're not going to fight a war with Vacuo," Blake told her. "We're going to do our best to usurp Varna and allow the people to have fair elections."

Coco sighed. "That's more proof that our kingdom is hypocritical. We say that we value freedom…but we never admit that freedom isn't free, not really."

Allison sent her daughter a sympathetic look. "Coco, I know you feel bad but your father and I will do everything that we can –"

"Then I'm going to enlist in the military," She sent her parents a sharp look. "I want to fight for this world to be safe, I want to fight for justice, and I want to do so in combat and intelligence."

Allison and Blake shared a long look before nodding.

"Alright," Allison said. "That's fair."

Coco stood up. "I'm going to sleep, but we're going to talk about this more tomorrow. Is that fair?"

Allison nodded. "Yes."

A long moment passed in silence. As soon as she was gone, Blake wrapped his arms tightly around his wife and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.

"I'm glad we've been alright," He said softly. "Although that doesn't make me any less worried about what's been happening…"

"My father's in jail and he's not getting out," She reminded him. "That's a major threat that's gone."

"I know…" He sighed as he pulled her in close, ignoring the all too familiar pain shooting through his left. "I just wish we didn't have to be worried about what might happen to our kids."

Allison bit her lip. "I have to be hard on her to keep her safe…"

"I agree," Blake said. "And she's gotten less reckless. The problem is, nothing seems to be enough to ensure our safety anymore. There's so much in the balance…"

"And that's not even getting into the problems with my father's constant…stream of information to the Council," Allison shook her head. "I know things are bad, and I know he is connected to so many people and so many crimes…but can we trust anything he says?"

Blake held her tightly in his arms. "I don't know, I have no connexions to that case. All I can hope for is that things won't crash and burn."

"I think we all feel that way…" Allison said softly. "Especially with the things we know…we were all in the room where some of these major decisions have happened, after all."


	80. Chapter 80

_**September 7th  
**_ _ **City of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **7:14 PM**_

"Hi Raquelle," Qrow said, nervously holding his week-old daughter in his arms as she glanced around curiously. "You're a sweet girl, you know that?"

Winter smiled, albeit a bit tiredly, as she looked over a few reports sent to her scroll as well as a few missions she could take in the next few months. "I told you that she was going to be fine."

Qrow sighed. "I just hope she doesn't get stuck with my semblance –"

"Sometimes I truly wonder if you're an idiot," Winter shook her head. "Qrow, she can't inherit your semblance, you married a Schnee and our semblance is dominant, hereditarily."

"Win, I love you but…" Qrow bit his lip. "Sometimes I wonder how I'm ever going to be a truly good father to Raquelle when I never was to Ruby."

Winter reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Qrow, let that part of your life go, things are different than they were nearly twenty years ago –"

"I know," He said, looking over to her. "Win, I'm just worried with everything that's been going on around recently."

She rested her head on his shoulder and let her daughter pull at her finger.

"Qrow…" She finally said. "I know you've been freaked out about what might happen to our family because Glynda and General Ironwood told me."

He shook his head. "Of course they did."

"Qrow, she said that you're terrified about what the future may look like, no matter how much you say that things aren't completely hopeless," Winter squeezed his shoulder lovingly. "Because, according to her, you can't help but fixate on whether or not we're running out of time."

He looked to her in concern and was silent for a time until their daughter started to cry.

"Oh, Raquelle," Winter said, taking their daughter into her arms and rocking her to soothe her. "It's okay, really, it's okay."

The little girl kept crying, but she was still beginning to calm down.

"You're a good mother," Qrow said. "Really, you are."

Winter sighed. "You're not a bad father, Qrow."

"I hope you're right," He said, wrapping an arm around her waist. "But –"

"Don't even say it," Winter said, sending him a sharp look as she continued to try and soother their daughter. "Because you're not horrible because of your semblance, you're not a terrible person or husband, and you're not going to be a bad father to Raquelle."

He stared at her for a long moment and then pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.

"I love you…" He murmured, then looking worriedly to his daughter. "And I love Raquelle too."

The little girl's crying slowed and looked to her father upon the sudden softness to his voice.

"See?" Winter said. "Our family's going to be fine."

"I really do want to believe that," Qrow said, tucking a stray lock of hers behind her ear. "Because I want things to be alright, I truly do."

Winter stared at him for a moment, but then shook her head. "Qrow, you're not going to get killed by your semblance."

"How can you be so sure?" He countered. "With everything that's happened, with Watts' attempt on my life, with my 'lack of decency' –"

"Do not let Elizabeth Morell's cynicism get to you!" Winter exclaimed, sighing upon startling her daughter. "Qrow," She said gently. "You can't let people continue to beat into you the idea that you're going to damn everyone you love! You let yourself drown in all of this, and it scares me!"

"It scares me too," He said, his fears clear in his red eyes. "Especially because of the fact that I'm –"

"Qrow," Winter said with concern clear in her voice. "I think Glynda's right that you let this suffocate you. I don't want it to be like this, I want us to have a normal life? I had a terrible childhood because my parents were constantly fighting, and I don't want us to become like them."

Qrow was silent for a moment, but then nodded.

"I promise I'll try to be better," He swore, looking between her and their daughter. "Because it's not fair to us if I'm a damn mess all the time…and the last thing I want is for there to be hell to pay."

* * *

"To be completely honest," Elizabeth's heels clicked as she continued to pace. "I would rather not talk about the Adels right now."

"How come?" Emmeline forced herself to hide her slight amusement. "Really, what exactly –"

"If you want to know, I'm sure your brother would be more than happy to tell you," Elizabeth scowled at her wine for a brief moment. "Because he heard the whole thing, and even had a bit to say about it."

"Eliza," Michael said tiredly. "I'm sure my brother wasn't trying to be a douche with what he said."

"How can you defend him?" She exclaimed. "You're supposed to be on my side, you're supposed to –"

"Eliza, you're being irrational," Michael said, sending her a sharp look. "I love you, but you're blowing this out of proportion. It's not as if what Blake said was untrue –"

"What?" Elizabeth's eyes flared and her heels stopped clicking almost forebodingly. "Do you seriously believe that I have never been content with anything and never will be?"

Michael paused, unsure of how to respond.

"You do, don't you?" Elizabeth shook her head. "I can't believe you."

"Can you maybe not shriek so loudly that the city can hear you?" Cristal stepped into the room, a shawl wrapped tightly around her small frame. "I'd rather my daughter not wake up and be cranky the rest of the night."

Elizabeth sighed. "Sorry."

"And if you all are taking Blake's side, then you're wrong," Cristal said, and Emmett put up his hands in surrender. "What? Are you –"

"I'm with you and Lizzie," Emmett informed her. "There's no reason to be hostile towards me."

Cristal rolled her eyes and then looked to Michael. "You have to know that what your brother said was unfair. After everything your wife has been through –"

"He did push it too far," Michael said calmly, glancing nervously to his wife. "But I'm still worried about her because of the fact that she seems to want revenge on Cinder – actual vengeance, not simply justice."

"As if you wouldn't feel the same way," Elizabeth snapped, although her voice was noticeably softened. "As if you don't feel the same way."

Michael hesitantly stood up and embraced his wife. "Eliza, I'm sorry about this, I just know you and don't want to see you become what you've hated for years."

She scowled at him for a moment, but her features quickly melted into sadness, tears rising in her eyes.

"I do want revenge on Cinder…" She finally admitted. "But not in the way you all think. I want to lock her up for the rest of her days, alone, and I don't care how crazy she goes. After everything she's done, she deserves to be tormented and unraveled by her own mind. I don't believe in killing people unless we have perfect reason under the law, and, for her, we don't. She's crazy, and she's unredeemable, but killing her would mean being her. And…after everything, that's the last thing I want to be."

"You're a good person," Michael murmured, giving her a gentle squeeze. "I love you so much, I really do."

"I…" Elizabeth bit at her lip. "I suppose."

Emmeline sighed. "Lizzie, I don't know how you can keep thinking you're a bad person. You should know by now that –"

"What if what everyone says about me is true?" She said, wrenching out of Michael's embrace and pacing once more. "That I'm never going to be satisfied, that I'm angry, obsessive, and –"

"You have every right to be angry," Cristal told her. "After everything that you've faced, you've more than earned the right to be angry. What you went through was horrible, and if you weren't angry with the people you are then I'd be concerned."

"She's right," Ozpin said as he stepped into the room and wrapped an arm lovingly around his wife. "If anything, it shows that you've still held onto yourself and your own humanity."

Elizabeth paused. "Really? You genuinely think that, Ozpin?"

Ozpin sighed. "Elizabeth, I'm not going to lie to you."

"Apart by omission," Elizabeth replied. "Which you've done countless times –"

"Lizzie, Oz –" Cristal started as she stepped around the couch towards her.

"You know it's true," Elizabeth said, shaking her head. "Chrissy, don't lie to yourself like I've tried to with things that I want to forget."

"Eliza –" Michael said, looking at her in concern.

"Don't," She said, a catch in her voice. "I can handle myself."

Emmeline grimaced as Elizabeth all but ran out of the room.

"I'm going to go talk to her," She said, standing up quickly and then stepping out of the room. "I know what she's dealing with."

Silence awkwardly held over the room.

"I don't know what's been going on with her," Michael said, burying his face in his hands as he sat down. "I know I haven't been around recently, but she's seemed fine over the –"

"Because she doesn't want to be perceived as weak," Cristal snapped, much to his surprise. "You're the one who married her, I think you should know that."

"Eliza and I have had a long-distance relationship since even before we were married," Michael sighed. "When we've been together, we've been able to have our love, our semi-normal family, and –"

"You two have fought quite a bit over your trouble when you've been around though," Emmett reminded him. "Although more recently in the last two years, since the Fall of Beacon."

Michael looked to him. "Lizzie and I have had a hard time processing things since the Fall, but we've been working through things."

"By further distance," Emmett countered. "You've taken more and more work that causes you to travel, and –"

"I know, and I need to be better because I know she actually tries every damn day," Michael bit his lip. "Alright?"

Cristal shook her head. "You two have such a complicated relationship sometimes that I don't understand it half the time."

Michael sighed. "That's true for me and Eliza too."

Emmett sent him a sympathetic look. "It's going to get better. Believe me, in our entire relationship, she and I have had a lot to work through."

"And Oz and I have had difficulties too," Cristal added as Ozpin wrapped an arm around her waist. "With everything that's happened, we've had quite a bit to work through and deal with. But we've…we've gotten through it, and our daughter is fine, we're fine."

Michael bit his lip. "You all are lucky…there's so much more than reaches the surfaces for me and Eliza."

Ozpin and Cristal shared a long look.

"That's true," She agreed. "But that doesn't mean that things are capable of getting better."

"Chrissy's right," Ozpin said, giving his wife an affectionate squeeze. "We have to at least fight…because if we're not fighting for anything, why are we trying at all?"

* * *

Karissa looked at the young woman in surprise. "Miss Belladonna?"

Blake pressed her cat ears into her head out of instinct. "Madame…Ciel –"

"Mar." Karissa corrected.

Blake sighed "Madame Mar, there's a matter relating to my team's mission from last month that you should be aware of."

Karissa raised an eyebrow as she motioned her inside and the young woman awkwardly sat down at the table.

"And what's that?" She finally questioned. "If this is in fact an issue, why didn't you bring it up after your team got back to the kingdom on the twenty seventh?"

Blake forced her hands to be steady and straightened out herself and her cat ears.

"I…" She sighed once more. "Roman Torchwick is alive."

Karissa stared at her in complete shock, unable to completely comprehend the implications of what she was saying.

"Roman Torchwick, criminal mastermind, and one of the most wanted people in the kingdom of Atlas is still alive?" Karissa shook her head. "Miss Belladonna, if I may ask –"

"That doesn't sound much like more than a pleasantry." Blake muttered.

"If I may ask," Karissa said a bit tersely. "Why and how could you keep something like this silent for so long?"

"Because I was scared," Blake snapped against her better judgement. "Because he was right in what he said about me. I am an ex terrorist, and I'm no better than him."

Karissa considered that. "Well, I'll be the first to admit that I've always had reservations about you because of the things you are known to have committed alongside Adam Taurus, but, based on the time you've spent here in Atlas, you've shown that you've changed, that you don't want to live like that and that you think it's morally reprehensible. In that sense, I'd say you are far better than him. At the very least, you try to compensate for what you've done."

Blake looked down at her hands. "I've become more and more like a human, if that's what you mean."

"No, it isn't," Karissa said calmly. "You've moved past violence and are attempting to be better. There are a lot of humans who can't do that – the prison population in Atlas, as you could easily look up, is mostly human criminals, not faunus. And, generally speaking, it's been humans in this kingdom who have committed the most violent and/or severe crimes. There's nothing wrong with who you are, and if you're going to keep insinuating to yourself that there is because Roman Torchwick of all people called you out for your past, then you're choosing to let yourself go."

Blake looked up at her in surprise. "Really?"

"I'm not happy about you keeping this information quiet for so long, and I'm not happy with some of the things you've done," Karissa hesitated for a moment as she went on. "But that doesn't mean I don't believe that you're a decent person, at your core. You just need to be careful and not let whatever…idealism you may have cloud your judgement."

Blake glanced out the window but then nodded. "I assume that there's more to do with this?"

"Roman Torchwick being alive does make things more complicated, yes," Karissa admitted. "And if the rumours are true that he's involved with the president's youngest child…then that will cause even more…interest and problems alongside this case."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "What exactly does that mean?"

"That's classified," Karissa told her. "Highly classified, at that."

Blake sighed as she stood up and headed for the door. "Is the Council really going to be able to handle this, or are we going to have to take matters into our own hands?"

Karissa was silent for a moment as the young woman lingered in the doorway. "That depends on whether or not we're able to effectively –"

"'Rissa, I was –" Spencer paused as he looked up from his scroll and noticed Blake. A bit awkwardly, he adjusted his fur coat as he spoke. "Has something happened?"

"Like always," Karissa said tiredly as Blake took advantage of the moment to leave. "There was a meeting today with the security council and your father that was pretty…I'd say brutal."

Spencer grimaced at the thought. "Oh."

"Daddy?" Natalie poked her head into the room from the hallway. "Can we talk?"

"In a few minutes, Nattie," Spencer sent her a meaningful look, and she all but ran off to her room. "Do you have anything pressing going on tonight?"

Karissa sighed. "I have a few calls I need to make, but hopefully those will go quickly and you and I can have a chance to relax."

Spencer kissed her softly. "Whatever works, 'Rissa."

She wrapped her arms tightly around him for a moment. "We can talk more about this later."

He nodded. "I love you so much."

She smiled as she reached for her scroll. "I love you too."

Spencer shook himself out as he headed down the hall while his fiancé started a, hopefully short, round of calls with a few other members of the DFAMA. The last few days had been difficult. It wasn't only with the concern with what was happening politically – further proof of the Atlesian Council only working as a half functional entity struck by polarization – but between the two of them. He had fallen back again a few nights before and taken several pills of Oxycontin before going to sleep – something which had terrified Karissa beyond belief. She had barely slept the rest of that night because of it. Even as he thought about it, he couldn't push away the feeling of holding onto her for dear life. Biting at his lip as he stepped into his daughter's room, Spencer forced himself to be much more steady and calm than he truly felt.

"You okay, Natalie?" He asked her, and she didn't respond, instead continuing to stare out her window. "You haven't really been yourself the last few weeks. Lashing out, and that incident the other day where you tackled a girl for no reason –"

"She was being mean," Natalie said stubbornly. "She deserved it."

Spencer sighed. "Nattie, really, what's bothering you?"

A heavy silence passed.

"How can you forget about mom?" She finally exclaimed, tears rising in her eyes. "How can you marry someone else? And what if you have another baby? Would that kid be more important than me or Matt or Percy?"

"Of course not!" Spencer stared at his daughter in shock. "Natalie, if I ever have another child, they'll be just as important for me as you and your brothers."

"So you're going to have a baby with her?" Natalie swallowed hard as she cried. "You're supposed to love mom, you're supposed to –"

"Natalie Arabella Ciel, I loved your mother so much," Spencer said, biting his lip. "But she's gone, she's never going to come back, and I'm going to marry Karissa. I adore her, I love her, and she and I are happy. I love you, and your brothers, I love Karissa, and if she and I have a baby, I'll love them too."

Natalie crossed her arms. "Why do you…why do you want to marry her?"

Spencer sighed. "Because Karissa makes me feel alive again, she loves me, I love her so much. She and I are happy, please understand that."

A soft knock was heard at the door.

"'Rissa?" Spencer smiled as she stepped into the room, her scroll closed in her hands. "Didn't keep you long?"

"Thankfully," She said, laughing a bit as he embraced her tightly and kissed her cheek. "Are you alright?"

Natalie scowled at the ceiling, responding even knowing that she was speaking to Spencer. "Hell no…"

The sad thing that he realized in that moment about his daughter was that she was still only nine.


	81. Time Passes (By Seven Years)

_**Seven Years Later  
**_ _ **October 15th  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **9:12 AM**_

Sixteen-year-old Natalie Ciel reached for the scissors on the countertop in the bathroom. Her long, dark hair cascaded down her back, her silver eyes sparkling with tears as she looked to the picture of her mother on her scroll. Slamming it shut, she stared herself down through the mirror. Then, albeit with a faint bit of hesitation, she grabbed a fistful of hair and raised the scissors in her other hand. In a swift motion, she cut off a large clump of hair, and then another, eventually leaving her hair jaggedly cut into a chin length bob. A long moment passed before she set down the scissors, then picking up the large clumps of hair on the floor and shoving them into the trash. Sighing heavily, she shoved her scroll into her back pocket and smeared on her concealer before applying heavy dark eye makeup, then black lipstick – all of which only emphasized how pale she was. Hoping to slip out into the main area of the condo and grab her bag quickly before heading to her classes, she found herself stopped by her father who was waiting for her in the kitchen. Motioning for her to sit down, she hesitantly did so and waited for him to speak.

"Nattie," Spencer said gently. "What's going on? You've – "

"I'm not changing how I look," She told him, crossing her arms. "I can be as quote un quote emo as I want."

"I wasn't going to tell you to change," Spencer forced himself to be calm despite his concern. "I just want to know what's going on. The last year…you've almost closed off, you've – "

"Maybe I finally know what happened to _her_ ," Natalie bit off, regretting it when he flinched. "How could you never tell me what really happened to mom? That she was murdered in front of you, that she was murdered by the same woman who – "

"Because you were too young – "Spencer started.

"How was I too young at twelve or thirteen?" She demanded. "How could you – "

"You were too young," Spencer repeated, then sighing. "And I needed to be strong for you and your brothers, and part of that was to stop wasting time on tears and move on – "

"Yeah, you're so strong," Natalie rolled her eyes before standing up angrily. "Even though you're still addicted to fucking diamorphine – "

She paused upon hearing crying from down the hall, followed by faint swearing.

"'Rissa?" Spencer called out. "Are you – "

"I'm fine," She said, stepping into the room fully dressed for a council meeting and holding their five-year-old daughter. "Luna, it's fine. Please calm down."

The little girl sniffed. "Mommy…"

"It's fine," Karissa told her, setting her down. "Okay?"

Luna was quiet for a moment before running over to Natalie and wrapping herself around her sister's leg. "Lili!" She exclaimed. "Hi!"

Natalie scowled and pried her sister off her. "Leave me alone."

"Be nice to your sister," Spencer told her a bit sharply. "You and me having to sort a few things out has nothing to do with her."

Karissa looked at him in concern. "What exactly happened?"

Spencer hesitated upon hearing her scroll go off. "I'll tell you later, I know you have a lot of meetings."

Karissa sighed. "If only things could calm down for a few days. I'd like the chance to sleep right again."

"I know," He said, then pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. "Hopefully it won't be too bad."

Karissa rolled her eyes. "In a perfect world." She said a bit darkly before pulling out her scroll, slipping on her heels, and then grabbing her purse and computer bag before leaving for work as Luna suddenly ran back down to her room.

Spencer sent his eldest a pointed look. "I don't want to know how you found out about – "

"Oh, just a bill from Watson Pharmaceuticals, which has been more than willing to sell you pills so long as you're willing to pay the price," Natalie's voice broke, genuine worry and sadness in it as she went on. "I recognized the name…I was nine the first time I ever saw one of the bills, but I was too young to know what it meant. But…a few weeks ago…I saw it again and…I researched it."

Spencer stared at her in horror. "Oh my god…"

Natalie swallowed hard. "The Council has it indicted for the horrible things that it's facilitated. Your own father, who's halfway through his second and last term as president, has condemned the company for making the addiction crisis worse. I didn't want to believe that you could…that you could die from this but…but he told me the truth when I asked."

Spencer shook his head. "Nattie, I know that – "

"Your own father thinks that you might die from this, he said that you almost did once, and that all of this started after your mother died and that you probably got dependent on the pills after mom died," Natalie bit her lip. "Her death broke you, and you say you've moved on but – "

"Stop…" Spencer said, looking at the scars from the injections. "Nattie, I've been trying to get off it for years, I've been trying even harder since I almost died – "

"And when was that?" She snapped. "A few months ago, a few _weeks_ ago –"

"It was when you were nine," He admitted, his voice breaking a bit in spite of himself. "What I personally remember was coming home from work and feeling absolutely horrible and I…the next thing that _I_ remember was the sound of beeping, footsteps, the doctor's voice, Emmeline's, and then –"

"Karissa," Natalie surmised. "She was freaked out, wasn't she?"

"She was terrified!" Spencer glanced out the window, feeling dejected. "Nattie, you have no idea how guilty I felt when I realized what I'd done. I was scared about what the consequences could have been for you, Matt, and Perce –"

"And you don't stop?" Natalie snapped. "How can you not stop with that?"

"I've been trying!" Spencer went silent for a long moment, brushing tears away from his eyes. "Natalie, I don't want to die, I –"

"Daddy, are you sad?" Luna came back into the room, clutching her bunny. "You look sad."

"I'm…I'm fine," He told her. "Can you get your shoes on so that I can head to work?"

Luna pouted. "Can't I just do my sockies?"

Spencer considered that. "Yeah, alright. But only because we're not going anywhere other than Atlas Academy, since I –"

"Yeah, yeah, Professor Ciel and all that," Natalie muttered. "This family really is corrupt and has too much power. You, Ronnie, Emmeline, Karissa, Edward, Emmett, even –"

"Nattie," Spencer said, trying to get her to be reasonable. "It's not like that –"

"I have no…" Natalie clenched her fists but then angrily grabbed her bags and crossed her arms. "I can't stand this! What the hell are we? I'm not okay, I'm by no fucking degree ever going to be okay, but at least I can see the world for what it is!"

"Natalie," Spencer said as he picked up Luna and slipped on his shoes, then grabbing his own bag. "Things are already bad enough, can we discuss this later when you're feeling more rational –"

"I can't!" She shrieked, accidently revealing cuts on her arms and wrists upon her sleeves sliding down. "I just…"

She trailed off, then meeting her father's horrified gaze.

"Oh my god, Natalie," He said, his voice shaking. "You…you're right…you're really not okay."

She bit her lip, tears rising in her eyes, but then followed him and her sister out to the car and eventually broke down in tears as she spoke candidly with Spencer for the first time in five years.

* * *

"Oz!" Cristal exclaimed, giggling as he twirled her into his arms in her office. "Are you practicing for the Schnee Dust Company ball in a few weeks?"

"We have had more time together," He smiled as he kissed her cheek. "Which I certainly think is one of the benefits of the Vytal Festival being in Atlas this year."

Cristal shrugged. "That and Courtney getting to see us both more."

"Sorry to interrupt," Emmett said, shamelessly stepping into the room. "But, Chrissy, we have a meeting with Ronnie in a few minutes –"

"Schnee, your concept of time is remarkably off," Ronnie, as uptight and properly composed as ever, stepped into the hall from the elevator. "And this relates to some serious matters involving your company –"

"If this has anything to do with Dust prices being so damn high, well then maybe if the Council could actually catch the people who are robbing –" Cristal started.

"Believe me, the DLNLE and DFAMA have been more than eager to do that," Ronnie sighed as they all stepped into Cristal's office and shut the door. "It's not just that, there's concerns rising because of the Vytal Festival –"

"It concludes at the end of November," Cristal reminded him. "I'm sure there can't be that much up in the air."

Ronnie shook his head. "Look, the problem in short is that there was a report submitted to the Atlas Council two days again, so Sunday night, that confirm not only is Adam Taurus back in the kingdom, but that he's planning anarchy against the Atlas Council. Full anarchy. He clearly wants to damn the Council, the Festival, and –"

"Us?" Emmett suggested, and Ronnie nodded. "Because of –"

"Power," Ronnie finished. "Your daughter in law submitted the recording, actually. Cas apparently was the one that captured it, but –"

"Sorry I'm late," Cas all but burst into the room, one of her heels catching in the door and almost tripping her. "My meeting with the board ran long –"

"You're the CFO, that's to be expected since you manage the company's finances," Ronnie said, then sending her a sharp look. "Your wife's report was from what you captured in recording, right?"

Cas sighed heavily as she straightened herself out but nodded. "Yes, Caity's report came from that."

"This is a dangerous situation," Ozpin said, sharing a long look with Cristal. "Chrissy, have any of the company files indicated more –"

"Yes, but primarily connecting Taurus and the White Fang to more robberies," Cristal pushed up her glasses as she went on. "Something which has been thoroughly documented in our files."

"I'm not sure what to do," Ronnie admitted. "But we have to do something, we have to be careful, because if not –"

"This could be another Fall of Beacon," Emmett ran his hand through his shoulder length waves. "And that would play right into the hands of the people we want to fight against."

* * *

"President Ciel," Twenty-six-year-old Caitlin Morell fidgeted with her scroll in her hands as she hesitantly stepped into his office. Glancing at the time, 11:19 AM, she focused on that for a brief moment rather than what she had to report. "I…I found conclusive evidence of a plan to attack the Atlesian Council by the White Fang and, more specifically, by Adam Taurus…although I should more say that my wife came across it."

Ciel sighed heavily. "When was this?"

"Over the weekend," She informed him, forcing her high voice to be as clipped as her mother's. "She was on a business trip for her position as the CFO of the SDC –"

"Where?" Ciel asked her tiredly. "And how much information did she obtain."

"City of Mantle," Caitlin hesitated as she went on. "She overheard him speaking with a few other members of the White Fang on a train. This…is the recording."

" _I already told you that the Council's only going to cause us problems!" The all too familiar voice of Adam Taurus snapped. "With the Ciel family's tightening grip on power, with the continued abuses by the Schnee family, with the Vytal Festival, we have to act! If the companies won't fix themselves, if the government won't do anything, then we're going to force their hands! I don't care if Cinder was unable to make good on her threat five years ago to kill President Ciel –"_

" _That's dangerous talk –" An semi-distinguishable female voice said._

" _I told you years ago that we had to fight for the rights of the faunus!" He shouted. "Don't run away like a coward!"_

" _I don't want anything to do with you!" The woman raised her voice as well. "And while the Council's done its share of wrong, while the SDC has done its share of wrong –"_

" _We have to act!" Adam roared. "If we don't, we're damned –"_

" _No!" She exclaimed. "You're only going to –"_

" _Take a damn side!" A slap was heard in the recording before the voices lowered to almost irresistible. "Bl…"_

Ciel stared at her upon the recording muffling out. "That voice sounds eerily similar to –"

"Please don't say it," She said. "You of all people should know that she would never sell her soul back to that man, not after everything he forced her into, not after –"

"The records suggest he never forced her to do anything," Ciel shook his head. "Did Casseia, by any chance, get a look at the woman's face?"

"Not really, at least based on what she told me," Caitlin bit her lip. "She said she was reasonably tall, pale, dark haired, and was definitely a cat faunus because of her ears –"

"That description sounds to be uncomfortable aligned with that of this woman," Ciel countered, sending his granddaughter in law a sharp look. "And her history would suggest –"

"I know it looks bad," Caitlin said, her hands shaking. "But if this is such a major concern –"

"Then I imagine that the security council will subpoena testimony on this matter from her," Ciel replied. "I would not tell your mother beforehand of that possibility, considering that she, Ronnie, Karissa, and Blake have unified to further the war on terror."

Caitlin sighed. "They have a point, and I agree with what they're doing –"

"As do I –" Ciel interjected calmly.

"But up to a certain degree," She paused for a moment but then forced herself to go on. "Demanding that citizens testify for –"

"Is a civic duty, legal under the law, widely supported by the populace," Ciel counted off. "Not to mention the fact that the specific person we're discussing is not a citizen of the kingdom of Atlas and is, rather, a permanent resident – with a criminal record up to and including fully realized and willing participation in acts of terrorism. I know that she's changed, so far as we know, and I know that her teammates will defend her to every end, but that does not mean that she's clean. Her hands are no cleaner than some of the convicted criminals we have behind bars –"

"I understand that," Caitlin said, crossing her arms. "But we can't be extreme."

Ciel went silent, and then sighed. "Sometimes I forget that you're only twenty-six, that you're not one of the top officials in the intelligence community and, rather, are only a mid-level investigator and intelligence official."

"I've worked almost non-stop since I was twenty-one and began working for the government," She said a bit tensely. "Not that I haven't taken personal time, but, generally speaking –"

"And that's why I can barely believe how young you are half the time," Ciel said. "Caitlin, I have great faith in you, and I do believe that you're going to be able to continue to rise, but you're not there yet. I understand what you're saying, and I'll consider it, but you still have to realize that this is a matter to which we have to take every precaution. I do not believe that she wants anything to do with him based on the abuses she filed charges against him for – and gave convincing testimony over – but we cannot take everything at face value. With national security at risk, it is not at all in our interests to take bold risks, particularly with people that we already have shown quite a bit of lenience."

A weighted silence passed in impasse between the two before the door opened and the head of the DFAMA paused for a moment, then shutting it swiftly behind her.

"Am I to assume that whatever is being uncomfortably discussed relates to the report you submitted late last night?" Karissa said, and Caitlin nodded. "I think that we have more than a few people in prison that could be useful in dealing with this."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "If you're referring to Cinder Fall –"

"We finally were able to find her two years ago," She reminded him. "And she's more than connected to Adam Taurus –"

"She's a killer, a liar –"

"She has no incentive to do that, not with the threat of execution hanging over her," Caitlin put in. "I don't approve of the idea of executing her, and I've made that more than clear, but she has every reason to cooperate. She operates for the preservation of her life, and if she thinks it's at risk then she'll give us the information we want on Adam Taurus. I'm sure Roman Torchwick will too."

Karissa considered that. "He's a nonviolent offender –"

"Barely," Ciel said. "But he's known to have an explosive temper and is a bit sadistic –"

"Regardless of that, he's up for parole next year," Karissa sighed. "I suppose, assuming whatever reports and tests we do come back clean, that we could motivate him by offering him parole a year early."

"And," Caitlin said, albeit a bit hesitantly. "The fact that Blake Belladonna is the reason Torchwick was able to arrested and captured in the first place upon him landing in the kingdom's capital seven years ago –"

"If you're suggesting that completely wipes her clean of this unrelated matter –" Ciel started.

"That's not what I'm saying," Caitlin said, a bit of sharpness to her voice. "I'm saying that it is an incident that blatantly shows that she's changed from her past and corroborates the idea that her work as a huntress is to make amends in that way the best she can. It certainly will help her case in saying she doesn't want anything to do with Adam Taurus."

"That's…" Karissa ran a hand through her azure curls a bit tiredly. "That's valid."

Ciel stared at her. "Everyone in this room is concerned by her past –"

"Agreed," Caitlin said. "But let's hear her out."

Ciel considered that for a long moment, glancing over a few reports.

"Alright," He eventually said. "But the process of law cannot be disputed in this matter for any of the parties that will be dealt with. Belladonna must tell the truth to the security council no matter how personally damning, Fall must cooperate or face the harsh punishment the judge decided in the conclusion of her trial a year ago, and Torchwick must tell us everything if he is to gain parole. After all, we can't let things get worse for us all than they already are…"


	82. Chapter 82

_**October 19th  
Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council  
Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Security Level: Mid-Range  
Necessary Security Clearance: Mid-Range  
Downtown  
11:12 AM**_

Winter raised an eyebrow upon seeing her husband's appearance as he stepped into her office. "What in the hell happened to you?"

Qrow sighed. "Let's just say that things in Vacuo are getting rougher."

"That sounds like an understatement," She told him. "Did you –"

"I got into an actual fight with Varna," He admitted, and her blue eyes went wide in concern. "Hence…"

Winter grimaced as he gestured to a gash under his left eye. "How exactly did that happen?"

He hesitated. "You sure you want to know?"

Winter sent her husband a pointed look.

"Alright, fine," He said, starting to pace. "With Shade Academy empty, I tracked Varna there without much effort since she's barred from entering the kingdom of Atlas. She was there, and there was a…well…"

" _I wonder what could possibly drive you to show up here," Varna said a bit dryly. "Considering just how paranoid that the kingdom of Atlas is these days."_

 _Qrow scowled. "You don't have to do this, you know."_

" _Frankly, there's quite a bit I haven't got a choice in," She rolled her eyes. "What's always intrigued me about you is how…how much faith you have in people who only let you down."_

" _And you think that siding with Salem is the best idea?" He countered. "You think that murder and anarchy –"_

" _You've developed quite a bit of confidence in the kingdoms," Varna noted. "But look at Vacuo, look at what I've been able to achieve with my…consolidated power."_

" _You've killed anyone who has said the oppose you!" Qrow snapped. "Anyone who says they have something against you ends up dead or poisoned – that journalist a few months ago, for one –"_

" _I didn't have anything to do with that," Varna said innocently. "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm wildly popular here –"_

" _By the majority of the populace which doesn't realize what the other kingdoms would do if things were cracked down like this," Qrow shook his head. "You've turned into a monster, Rosalinde."_

 _Varna clenched her fists, resisting the urge to activate her powers as the Summer Maiden._

" _And what makes you say that?" She questioned through gritted teeth. "Atlas is not clean by any degree –"_

" _None of the kingdoms are," Qrow reminded her. "That's not –"_

" _Why don't you tell me this?" Varna said, stepping towards him after picking up a knife from a top her desk. "What do you have to live for when Ozpin can't defeat Salem and she'll kill anyone who stands in her way?"_

 _Qrow reached for Harbinger. "More than you do."_

 _Varna stared at him for a moment, her violet eyes wide in shock and tears rising in them in spite of herself. Another moment passed in seeming impasse; neither was ready to make a move against the other, and neither could quite shake the words of the other. It wasn't until Qrow took a small step back that Varna swung her hand and the knife, which unbeknown to him she had manipulated with her powers as a sorceress, cut through his aura and cut a deep gash under his eye. As this happened, he grabbed her other wrist and was able to fling her into a bookshelf. Varna let out an angered shriek and dropped her knife to activate her magic. With it, she turned Harbinger to dust, leaving the him without a weapon. Realizing this and considering his odds against her, Qrow steadied himself so much as he could before managing to grasp both of her wrists as she lunged at him, attempting to tackle him._

 _Unsure of whether or not he would be able to break her aura, he struggled for several minutes against her attempts to wrench out from his grasp. Finally unable to hold on, he let go and, as she reached for his throat, kicked her swiftly in the side. She let out a cry of pain, and her aura shimmered over her as she harshly hit the ground. Standing up, she activated her maiden powers and summoned a rather large ball of fire that Qrow only just ducked out of. Instead, it lit the room on fire and Varna, in a moment of paralyzing fear, she did nothing before finally gaining the sense to freeze the flames. However, in that time with the smoke and flame, Qrow had managed to escape through the door unseen. Without realizing it, her anger and show of power had giving him enough time to transform without her noticing – something which had allowed him to fly out unscathed._

" _Motherfucker!" She shrieked, slapping her desk and causing the mirror she had on it to shatter._

 _And though he would never know it, in that moment, seeing her face in the shattered glass was enough for Rosalinde Varna to see the person she had become – the same person whom she loathed._

"Oh, Qrow," Winter ran a hand through her hair tiredly. "I'm just relieved she didn't do worse. If she really does have the powers of the Summer Maiden, then she's even more dangerous than she's always been."

"I know," He said, sighing. "And that worries me."

"That's going to be an issue when the security council finds out about it," Winter shook her head. "And she destroyed your weapon –"

"Believe me, I'm pretty pissed about that," Qrow laughed dryly. "But I can remake it, it'll just take time."

"At the very least, I'm sure Raquelle be glad that you'll be home more in the coming weeks," Winter smiled. "She missed you, you know."

"Well, I'm sure it will be good for all of us with me being home," Qrow shrugged. "Although, this is probably going to give James an excuse to –"

"To what?" Glynda questioned as she stepped into the room. "If you…what exactly happened to you?"

"Confrontation with Varna," He told her. "Didn't exactly go well."

"That I can tell," She remarked dryly. "And if you think you can keep getting out of what James –"

"He wants me to drop my support for Blake –"

"She might not be innocent," Glynda sighed heavily. "I really hope she is, I don't want to see her fall back into where she came, but, if she has…"

Qrow stared at her in shock. "Glynda, we have enough connexions to clear her name –"

"We're not going to break the law to protect her," She snapped. "That's completely unethical –"

"And yet you have essentially nothing to say when it comes to all of the things that Ronnie has done on Brianna's behalf over the years?" Qrow countered. "Glynda, he's broken –"

"Qrow –" Winter started.

"Win –" He began.

"I agree with you that I think she's innocent, she's proven herself so much to have changed from who she was," Winter said calmly. "But it's not in our place to stop the Council from enforcing its own laws."

"Listen to her," Glynda told him. "At least she's being reasonable."

Qrow scowled. "You're being a hypocrite."

"No, I'm not," Glynda said, crossing her arms. "If you think that we should just allow the risk posed by anyone being connected to Adam Taurus and his schemes right now to –"

"Yet you defend Ronnie and Brianna, who –"

"Qrow, the situations are completely different –"

"No, they're not," He said resolutely. "The fact of the matter remains that if we ignore justice for the sake of the Atlesian Council sucking its own –"

"Qrow, this isn't helping," Winter stood up and gently took his hand. "We can't afford to fight amongst ourselves right now, the best we can do is to accept what's going to happen and wait."

* * *

"I know you and Eliza are still mad at each other," Michael said, and his brother rolled his eyes. "But she has a point about the Vytal Festival."

"The people we're concerned about have been in our custody for over a year!" Blake exclaimed in exasperation. "In Watts' case, he's been locked up in maximum security solitary confinement for nearly a decade with no chance of parole! Cinder Fall's been in for two years with no chance of parole and the possibility of execution hanging over her – for the Fall of Beacon, for conspiracy, for interference in Atlesian affairs, for treason –"

"But we were barely able to charge her with and were only able to because we ended up in a brief war with Vacuo around the time we captured her," Brianna reminded him, causing Michael to gesture to her in slight exasperation with Blake. "Which was entirely because she had been fighting on and inspiring their side despite being an Atlesian citizen –"

"But she did commit treason, she even admitted to it," Blake shook his head. "That's not even including the other things she was charged with – like attempted murder on the entire Ciel family, the Schnees, your wife –"

"I know," Michael said, not wanting to think too much about the woman's multiple attempts and threats to his wife's life. "Can we not –"

"Sorry," Blake said, then going on. "And then, of course, there's Roman Torchwick."

"I'm not sure that I agree with what Karissa said to the security council yesterday about offering him early parole for full cooperation with the government to deal with Adam Taurus and the White Fang," Michael glanced at some of the files on his desk, then opening his scroll. "If only because he's proven more than once to be less than cooperative and willing to cooperate."

"That's why I suggested that," Karissa said a bit smugly as she stepped into the room. "Because, frankly, if we can get him to talk then he'll get early parole but only that. It'll prevent him from going back to his old associates, it'll give us information we need. Holistically, it works out vastly in our favor."

"It was more than reasonable," Ronnie agreed. "Especially in the current situation."

"The Vytal Festival being in Atlas for the second time since the Fall of Beacon ten years ago is a major event, I agree," Karissa said. "As I'm sure Michael can elaborate upon."

"The security is more than expansive," He said, placing his scroll in the dock and projecting the basics of the system. "We've got a consistent, well kept record of everything that's happened and, so far, things have gone smoothly."

"Apart from the Dust robberies of the last few months," Brianna put in. "Which have only continued to rise, almost exclusively perpetrated by the White Fang."

"Something the CEO, COO, and CFO of the SDC have all provided us confirmation of to reason with the Department of Treasury their increased Dust prices," Ronnie said, and Brianna nodded shortly. "So, for that reason –"

"Michael, there's –" Elizabeth paused in the doorway and pursed her lips upon seeing her brother in law. "Blake," She said shortly. "I saw that you're not at all worried about the Vytal Festival, by the looks of the report you filed as the head of your department."

"Lizzie," He said, sounding vaguely exhausted. "We've been arguing non-stop for over a week. Can we please take a break from it and agree that our viewpoints are different because of your paranoia –"

"My _paranoia_?" She scowled as she slammed the door behind her with her foot. "Really, resorting to the exact same attacks you've been using against me for the last several years?"

Blake stood his ground. "There is no one in this room that doesn't have reason to be paranoid, but you take this to new extremes –"

"That was unnecessary," The high voice of Caitlin Morell said as she stepped into the room, crossing her arms as soon as the she slammed the door shut. "That door almost hit me in the face."

Elizabeth sighed. "Sorry, I'm just irritated with –"

"Okay, when are you not irritated with someone?" Blake countered. "Do you get antsy when you don't know who to hate?"

Caitlin scowled at her uncle. "Don't be a dick, there are actual problems to –"

"Yes, of course, I forgot that you're part of the dynasty!" Blake exclaimed, and both Michael and Elizabeth stared at him in shock. "Has it ever crossed your mind that everyone in this room has cemented power because of either who they are to begin with, who they married, or who they were born to?"

"You and I are included in that," Michael reminded him. "Our father may have just floated in and out of lives, but he left us a ridiculous sum of money – mom too."

Blake crossed his arms. "And then you married Elizabeth, who was just as wealthy –"

"I –" Elizabeth started.

"Oh, shove it," Ronnie said, sending Blake a dark look. "I know that you're strained because of the Festival, because of all the shit that is always happening in your family, but you're being –"

"For god's sake, Blake, you married a highly successful designer!" Brianna exclaimed in complete exasperation. "Your eldest child is a reasonably well respected specialist in the military, your second eldest is the heiress to your wife's company, and your twins are incredibly bright sixteen year olds who are attending one of the most prestigious schools in the nation!"

"And your family all but controls the government," Blake replied, and Ronnie groaned, sending Elizabeth a pleading look. "Your father's the president, you're the head of the state department, your sister's a general, your wife is the new head of the DSAEO since the previous head stepped down last year over charges that Brianna was removed from –"

"Which was not the most ethical way for that case to be handled," Caitlin said, attempting to be as reasonable as possible despite the fact that she was beginning to feel ill from her anxiety with the tension hanging over the room. "But there's no point on fixating on the past when there are much more pressing concerns –"

"All of which are valid points," Blake said. "But the point remains that Ciel family has quite a bit of influence of the government, as I'm sure your wife can tell you."

Caitlin bit her lip. "If anything, being a Ciel makes things more difficult because of all of the things we have to take into account because of our status. It can be draining for anyone, and Cas is no exception. Especially in her position as the CFO of the Schnee Dust Company –"

"Can we please, for the sake of preserving our sanity, return to the actual issue?" Karissa looked at all of them almost incredulously. "Since when has everything we do been about shifting the blame for things that are out of our control or circumstances that we choose?"

Elizabeth sent her a grateful look.

"The security system looks stable," Caitlin said, pointing towards the projection with her pen. "And based on what I've seen, the Vytal Festival itself seems to be going smoothly. We don't have anything to worry about, not with what our intelligence is suggesting."

"Apart from, of course, the plans that we've intercepted from communications between members of the White Fang," Elizabeth said, and Karissa sighed. "With all of the people we're pulling to give testimony in the coming weeks –"

"I agree, this doesn't look good," She said, twisting her azure curls in her hands. "But we have to continue to walk the line between no action and rash action. If we go to either extreme, we're going to end up in a similar position to the one we were in ten years ago."

"A terrifying thought if there ever was one," Brianna remarked dryly. "If it comes to that, then we might as well have signed a deal with death."

Blake bit his lip, unconsciously shifting his left and then flinching upon the motion.

"What are we even doing anymore?" He asked them, a bit of guilt starting to rise for attacking Elizabeth. "How are we able to do anything anymore?"

* * *

"I don't have anything to do with Adam!" Blake stared at her teammates pleadingly. "He cornered me on that train, believe me, I didn't want to have anything to do with him and haven't for years."

"I believe you," Yang said, taking her partner's hand. "You're better than him, you really are."

"The circumstances are still suspicious," Weiss said slowly. "And you did admit to still having contact with some of your old friends in the White Fang."

"That had nothing to do with this!" Blake buried her face in her hands. "I've done everything I can to try and prove my innocence, and not even all of my teammates believe me?"

"No, we believe you," Ruby told her reassuringly. "You're one of us, and you'd never do anything with someone like him, not after everything he's done and put you through."

"I'd like to hear that from Weiss too," Blake said, and the former heiress let out a shriek of annoyance as she leaned backwards into the plush couch in the apartment that they divided the rent on in downtown Atlas. "That's a perfectly reasonable request, especially considering –"

"Ugh, fine!" Weiss stared at the ceiling as she went on. "I believe you, that you don't want to have anything to do with one of the people that's spent years terrorizing the kingdoms for no reason other than to make a statement!"

Blake sighed. "Thank you, Weiss."

"I still don't understand why you wouldn't just run away from him," She said. "Considering how much you despise him. Even if we believe you, the council is still going to be suspicious."

Blake pulled her blanket tighter around herself. "Various members of the Council have made that more than clear. Including the fact that I am 'not an Atlesian citizen, rather a permanent resident which therefore increases the power of the Council to demand testimony.' It's complete bullshit."

"Who exactly has 'made it clear'?" Yang asked her gently. "Please don't tell me it's anyone –"

"Madame Mar, for one," Blake said, beginning to feel resigned. "Amongst others…and…and Caitlin Morell."

Ruby stared at her in shock. "Caitlin Morell thinks you should go to court?"

"She thinks I need to appear before the Council and justify myself if I want to stay out of court," Blake said. "I don't think that's quite wrong, but I'm not thrilled that someone we're close with would –"

"I can't believe that she –" Yang started.

"That's typical of her," Weiss said, crossing her arms as she sat up. "She's got more than a healthy respect for the law and due process because of the way she was raised."

"Of course," Blake said, then shaking her head. "I still hate how unfair the Atlesian government's system is set for –"

"In case you've forgotten," Weiss said with a bit of sharpness. "There are far more humans behind bars in Atlas – especially when it comes to felonies – so the issue here isn't discrimination. You just are ashamed of your past, and you know it."

Blake scowled at her. "If you think that some of the people who will spend hours grueling me over this aren't prejudiced –"

"I'm not saying that," Weiss told her. "I'm saying that this is the same thing they would do for humans in your circumstances. You know that, you've seen it –"

"So?" Blake exclaimed. "Why should I –"

"You're acting guilty," Weiss pointed out. "Being this resistant without reasonable justification is going to make you seem guilty of whatever any given member of the Council thinks you are."

Blake bit her lip. "Maybe I don't want my reputation destroyed because of my past being dredged back up."

Ruby looked at her worriedly. "Blake, is there something in your past that you're ashamed of and haven't told us?"

"Blake," Yang said, wrapping an arm around her partner. "Please don't tell me you're afraid of telling us anything."

"I already told you what I'm referring to," Blake said, her voice quiet. "Yang, you know why I don't want to make this public. No one else was in the room where it happened, at least no one who is able to talk –"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Weiss exclaimed. "Blake, if you tell us, we'll keep it quiet!"

"Swear on your life?" She said, an eyebrow raised. "Well?"

Weiss was silent for a long moment, but then nodded shortly. "Yes."

"When Nicole Ciel was in her early twenties, and just a year before I went to Beacon…" Blake said, hanging her head in shame as her voice fell lower and lower. "Adam and I came across her in Vale. She attacked us because she saw us stealing Dust."

"Wait…" Ruby said as Yang pulled Blake closer to her. "Are you saying you met the president's daughter and –"

"Ruby…" Blake said, her voice shaking. "Look, this was one Dust robbery before I left him and applied to Beacon. And, anyways, we fought her and it wasn't until her aura broke that her illusion fell and it was clear who she was. Adam, because of his hatred for the Ciels and with Edward having been sworn in as president for his first term literally a month before…"

Weiss stared at her in sheer horror. "Oh my god, Blake, what did you do?"

"I…" Blake buried her face in her hands, tears rising in her eyes. "He convinced me that we should show her what it's like to be subjugated, what it's like to live a few hours as a faunus under the iron gloves of the kingdoms of Atlas and Vale and with the false promises made…the things he said, you have no idea how provocative they were for me, especially with the state I had been in at the time –"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Weiss demanded. "Are you saying you tortured the president's youngest daughter?"

"I…yes," Blake admittedly, her voice breaking and shame rising in her and constricting her chest. "I sliced her hair, and, in the process, gave her a few scars on her upper back, near her ears, and one on her neck. Adam…he beat her almost unconscious after I did…what I did."

"Blake," Yang said, giving her a loving squeeze. "You're not like that anymore, I know you're not."

Weiss couldn't even speak and instead stared at her teammate in abject horror and disbelief.

"He kept yelling at me that I had to avenge the friends of ours that had died," Blake finally said, forcing herself to go on. "And…adrenaline and his words beating against me, I stopped thinking…I just…I just did. I'm horribly ashamed of it, and, by the time Adam was done beating her and she'd fallen unconscious, I realized how horrible what we were doing, what we had done was."

"Blake…" Ruby said, her silver eyes wide as she tried to understand what her teammate was going through.

"A few hours later, as we were trying to rob the next train carrying Dust, I finally made the choice to disappear, to leave him as far in my past as possible," Blake said, looking up with her eyes red from tears. "Or, at least, I tried to…"

"That's not who you are anymore," Yang reminded her again. "I know why you don't want this to get out –"

"You're going to have to tell the Council the truth," Weiss said, standing up and then slipping on her heels as she grabbed her purse. "If you don't –"

"Weiss, this will destroy me –" Blake exclaimed helplessly.

"Well, maybe try and make up for it," Weiss said flatly. "I'll be back later."

"Weiss, where are you going –" Ruby started.

But the door had already slammed shut behind her as she prepared herself to step out into the frigid morning air.


	83. Chapter 83

_**October 31st  
Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council  
Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action  
Atlesian National Security Council  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Necessary Security Clearance: Low  
Security Level: High  
Downtown  
2:17 PM**_

"Ronnie, I'm a little uncomfortable with what may be discussed in the hearing today," Brianna paced around her office as she spoke. "I know you, and Emmeline will be involved in the later hearings –"

"Because I have a meeting with several foreign officials this afternoon as a result of the Vytal Festival," Ronnie reminded her. "And my sister's one of the people overseeing the security of the Festival and is at Atlas Academy right now with the Schnees and my father."

"I know," Brianna sighed. "I just hope that there's nothing we don't already know in her testimony. I like the girl well enough, and I don't want to believe she's guilty of any more than she's already been proven to be. She's committed murder, for one –"

"Robbery, arson, etc," Ronnie counted off. "All of which are serious crimes. In the forms she committed them, they're felonies."

Brianna shivered. "I'd rather not think about what it would be like if anything else was on that…repertoire."

"I'd rather not either," Ronnie admitted. "Things are bad enough, and we have enough people we need to come forward with information already. What surprised me was that Belladonna came forward to offer information of own free will."

Brianna snorted. "Weiss probably convinced her."

Ronnie considered that. "I suppose that would make more than a little bit of sense."

"I know that the fact she's coming forth willingly should indicate that she's innocent or hasn't done anything in her past that she hasn't previously admitted to…" Brianna trailed off, and then shook her head. "But, at the same time, she is an ex-terrorist…who knows what skeletons she has in her closet."

Ronnie grimaced. "Don't you think that's a bit on the nose?"

"If it is, then it's warranted," Brianna glanced at the clock. "I hope this doesn't drag on for hours on end. That wouldn't be fair to her, and she's gone through enough already. More to the point, I'm sure the security council has more important things to do than spend hours interrogating someone publicly that they've already gotten nearly a full twenty four hours worth of testimony from over the years."

"I just don't understand why my little sister sent my father a message saying not to trust Belladonna," Ronnie sighed. "I can't tell if she's trying to make things harder for the council, or if she's knows something rest of us don't. Probably the former, but she's my sister, so I'd rather not think of her as the kind of person who would interfere, or attempt to interfere, that directly with our kingdom's government and government processes."

"It's odd, I'd agree," Brianna bit her lip. "You don't think that Nicole would do anything against the family, would she?"

"I'm not sure," Ronnie admitted. "I don't want to think of her as being like Cinder…but she may very well be. We don't know what goes on in her head, and we have almost no way of getting that information out of her."

Brianna crossed her arms as she leaned against her desk. "We probably shouldn't condemn other people for committing felonies or other high crimes. We've done our share of that before, the difference being that we were well placed to stay out of prison."

Ronnie stared at her for a moment but then hesitantly stepped over to her and embraced her awkwardly for a short moment.

"Brie," He said after he released her. "We did what we had to –"

"What we should have done was resign," She said, the familiar feeling of guilt rising in her once again. "I am never going to be able to reconcile what we did with my conscience, Ronnie, I'm just not."

"It haunts me too," He admitted. "But we wouldn't have our stability, our family without sacrifice. I'd do it again if it meant we'd be able to be there for Ryan."

Brianna bit her lip. "How are we ever going to explain this to him?"

"We don't have to," He said gently. "Ryan doesn't have to know what we did, and he's too young to understand that some sacrifices like that have to be made."

"I know he doesn't have to know," Brianna said, pausing before forcing herself to continue. "But I don't know if we should tell him the truth or let him believe we're clean. He's going to hear enough about your temper in a few years when they begin to discuss history and civics in his classes –"

"And I know that it doesn't sound great, but he knows that sometimes –" Ronnie started.

"It's still not going to be pleasant to hear," Brianna reminded him. "To hell with the fact that he knows how you are, that he knows you're demanding of everyone –"

"Well what am I supposed to be?" Ronnie snapped. "What choice have I ever had when my entire life was about being like Emmeline, and helping Spencer, and struggling to reconcile what I felt about my little sister's kidnapping and my mother's death –"

"I don't think it's fair what you've been through, but you're proving the point," Brianna sent her husband a sharp, but knowing look. "Ronnie, you're always strained, and you get like this over so many things. It's not healthy, and you know it."

He was silent for a moment before embracing her tightly and kissing her forehead.

"I'm sorry, Brie," He said, his voice remarkably gentle. "I don't know what I'd do without you. At this point, you're pretty much the only one who can keep me sane."

She gave in to her ordinary judgement and all but melted into his embrace. "I know you're trying…"

"I don't think you'll ever know how much I love you," He murmured, holding her close. "But, believe me, I'm not going to let go of you. I need you more than you know, Brie, I really do."

* * *

"Miss Belladonna," Kiara Davis, head of the DCCCP and federal prosecutor for the city of Atlas began. "As you are well aware, this open session testimony will cover discussion of crimes to which you are publicly known to have committed. After today, there will be two more days of session in which, behind closed doors, you will provide information to not only the senate but to this security council once more. Today, the members of the security council present for this hearing are, myself, Madame Elizabeth Morell, Madame Karissa Mar, General James Ironwood, Director Blake Adel, Miss Tara Sparks, and Miss Addison Carrington."

Blake bit her lip as she glanced about the room, leaning forward slightly towards the microphone – all while knowing that the entire room was watching her and recording her every word whilst numerous news-media organizations broadcast her testimony.

"Of course," Blake said, forcing herself to retain a stoic composure. "As, I imagine, is routine."

Kiara raised an eyebrow, but then nodded. "Yes, as is routine, Miss Belladonna."

Blake took in a deep breath. "Alright."

An uncomfortable, heavy silence hung over the room for a moment before Elizabeth Morell spoke.

"Miss Belladonna," She said, her voice as clipped and polished as always. "You are known to have been directly connected to Adam Taurus, the current high leader of the terrorist organization known as the White Fang. You are here, today, under oath, to discuss the implications of this tape."

Blake's cat ears pressed into her head as Morell played back the recording which she knew that the woman's daughter in law had recorded and that her daughter had submitted.

" _I already told you that the Council's only going to cause us problems!" The all too familiar voice of Adam Taurus snapped. "With the Ciel family's tightening grip on power, with the continued abuses by the Schnee family, with the Vytal Festival, we have to act! If the companies won't fix themselves, if the government won't do anything, then we're going to force their hands! I don't care if Cinder was unable to make good on her threat five years ago to kill President Ciel –"_

" _That's dangerous talk –" A semi-distinguishable female voice said._

" _I told you years ago that we had to fight for the rights of the faunus!" He shouted. "Don't run away like a coward!"_

" _I don't want anything to do with you!" The woman raised her voice as well. "And while the Council's done its share of wrong, while the SDC has done its share of wrong –"_

" _We have to act!" Adam roared. "If we don't, we're damned –"_

" _No!" She exclaimed. "You're only going to –"_

" _Take a damn side!" A slap was heard in the recording before the voices lowered to almost inaudible. "Bl…"_

The twenty-seven-year-old swallowed hard.

"Can you confirm or deny that the voice on that tape was yours with Adam Taurus?" Morell questioned. "Miss Belladonna?"

"I…" Blake looked down at her hands. "Yes, that was me on the tape. I was cornered on a civilian train to the city of Atlas from the city of Mantle by Adam, who attempted to convince me to rejoin his cause."

Morell considered that. "Beyond the crimes you have admitted to – amongst which are arson, Dust robbery, and murder – your known association with Taurus is limited other than to, by your own admission, infatuation with him."

"Yes, that's true," Blake said, her hands shaking. "I have said all of that before, Madame Morell."

"To that end," Morell said slowly, glancing to Davis who gave her a curt nod as she went on. "Did your infatuation with Taurus ever drive you to do anything which – in a normal state of mind without that or adrenaline, etc – you would not have done under other circumstances?"

Blake was silent for a long moment, not wanting to speak as the incident she had admitted to her teammates only a week prior came back to mind.

"Miss Belladonna," Karissa Mar said, breaking the silence. "Your answer?"

She looked up, her eyes wide and her cat ears perking up and back in fear. "I…to answer your question, Madame Morell, yes, I did things I would not have done under other circumstances."

Murmurs overtook the room before Kiara spoke.

"Miss Belladonna, could you please give more context," The prosecutor eyed her a bit suspiciously and, yet, at the same time, with some sympathy. "If these are to crimes which you have not admitted previously."

"There is one crime I have not admitted to, yes," Blake said, her voice shaking. "But I'd like to instead plead the fifth."

"No," Blake Adel said. "That only applies when a witness is in trial or in public setting to which they were subpoenaed. You came here by your own free will to help this case, and are under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. If you will, please provide us this council with the information you are alluding to."

Blake stared at him, feeling paralyzed in fear. "I…"

She trailed off, her voice catching and her eyes wide as tears rose in them and shame filled her to her core. A minute passed, then another.

"Miss Belladonna," Addison Carrington said calmly. "If this was a financial crime, it is likely long past the statute of limitations and you cannot be brought to the stand for it if there was outcry for it."

"Actually," Tara sparks interjected. "Miss Belladonna, almost any crime you could have committed are likely to be long past the statute of limitations. You have nothing to worry about."

"Under the law, but even then…" She said, then shaking her head. "This…this crime involves myself and Adam Taurus…but also the Ciel family."

Murmurs began once more, louder than before.

"Miss Belladonna," General Ironwood said sharply. "Are you suggesting that the Ciel family was involved in crimes to aid the White Fang's violence?"

Blake shook her head, fighting back tears. "No…" She said, her voice breaking. "I…during a Dust robbery with Adam…we…we came across the president's daughter. This was a month after President Ciel was sworn in, and…and because the Ciel family, to many people in the White Fang – who you have to understand are…are misguided –"

"They are terrorists," Karissa corrected. "They are not misguided, they are terrorists."

Blake brushed tears away from her eyes as she stared down at her hands.

"I was young, jaded, pumped with adrenaline, and willing to do whatever Adam told me," Blake's voice broke as she went on, hating having to repeat the story. "And, because the Ciel family represents to those in the White Fang the absolute worst of Atlas, Adam…he convinced me that we…that we needed to show the president's daughter what it feels like to be subjugated, to be the victim of false hope, of torture…and…in the state I was in and with the provocative way he was pushing me….I…I sliced her hair, gave her a few scars on the upper back, near the ears, on the back of the neck…and I did nothing when Adam beat her…beat her unconscious. A few hours later…we tried another Dust robbery…and when I realized what I'd done…by that point…I left. I just left…"

The room went silent in pure horror, the only sounds being of breathing and the clicking of a pen.

"And this…" Morell stared at her in utter disbelief. "This was General Emmeline Ciel?"

Blake shook her head. "No…his other daughter…Nicole Ciel."

"You tortured Nicole Ciel?" Karissa Mar raised an eyebrow, then sharing a look with Blake, James, Elizabeth, and Kiara. "In the exact way you described?"

Blake buried her face in her hands. "Yes…" She admitted, her voice almost inaudible. "I was involved in the brutal assault and torture of Nicole Ciel ten years ago."

Elizabeth took in a sharp breath, but then motioned to Kiara. "Madame Davis?"

"This hearing is adjourned," She said almost tonelessly, unsure of what to think. "We will discuss this matter, amongst others, tomorrow in closed session. You are free to go, for now, Miss Belladonna."

* * *

"Emmett!" Edward stared at his son in law in complete exasperation. "Can you for once take some time from being you for just a day or two so that –"

"What?" Emmett stared at him in complete confusion as he adjusted his glasses. "Edward, seriously, what is the –"

"I think he's referring to your coat," Emmeline murmured, half amused. "Mink, Emmett. Don't even remind me how much it cost."

He wrapped an arm tightly around her waist. "Emmy, you know we can more than afford it. I make about eight million lien a year, a six thousand lien coat –"

"You're remarkably frivolous," Edward shook his head. "If it weren't for how much you and Emmeline love each other, I'd find you unbearable."

Emmett smiled as he gave his wife a loving squeeze. "Well, of course I love Emmy. She's my wife, and, believe me, no one's going to lay a hand to harm her."

Ari and Ella Ciel-Schnee made exaggerated gag faces upon their father kissing their mother.

"Can we just watch the fights?" Ella groaned. "Please?"

"Sure," Cas said as she approached with her wife. "I'm sure mommy and daddy want to talk to Edward anyways. You know, things that we're not allowed to hear."

"Well –" Caitlin started, though she was swiftly elbowed by her wife. "Cassie!"

"Not now," Cas said, giving her a pleading look. "Please?"

Caitlin sighed as Ari and Ella began to follow Cas to the coliseum. Turning to Edward, Emmett, and Emmeline, she crossed her arms, shivering a bit as a cold wind blew through.

"Blake's testimony is today," She said, the wind whipping her bronze waves and blunt bangs about. "The open-session one, obviously. I'm pretty sure she's already speaking to the security council, although no one's quite sure how long she's to be questioned."

Emmeline glanced at the time on her scroll. "It looks like she's been going for an hour already. Nothing significant has been reported though. Same things we've heard from her before. The White Fang turned to violence under Sienna Kahn, and was furthered by Adam Taurus. I'd be surprised if there's much she could add that isn't public information already."

"That tape of her was pretty damning," Edward reminded her. "But, yes, I'd be surprised if anything of genuine consequence emerged. The chances are that the tape will be written off to being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and, whether that's for better or for worse, that will be the end of it."

"If we can't prove anything, bringing her into court against aggressive federal prosecutors would be wrong," Caitlin sighed. "But I'm not sure what to believe, at the moment. I don't want her to be guilty of anything horrible. But…she may very well be, and the facts will have to speak for themselves."

Emmett shared a look with Emmeline.

"That doesn't sound promising," He remarked. "And she's already admitted on record to some pretty terrible things."

"To be perfectly honest, I'm less concerned about her than I am about what might be brought forth by people like Cinder and Torchwick," Emmeline said, then sighing. "Not that I'd consider either of them reliable witnesses."

"Both of them will have incentive to tell the truth, though," Edward said pointedly. "Torchwick, should he be of any use to ongoing investigations, will likely receive early parole, and Fall knows that there are people throughout the kingdom clamoring for her execution because of the things she's known to have done or orchestrated."

"That may not be enough," Emmeline countered. "Especially since that also gives them incentive to tell the Council exactly what it wants to hear."

"But lying to the council is a crime," Caitlin put in. "Which means that they'd only worsen their chances for survival and/or going free."

Silence passed between them for a brief moment.

"She's right," Edward eventually said. "They may be sadists, convicted felons, murders – and for both, that doesn't even cover half the list of crimes they've committed – but they're not stupid. They know what's at stake."

Emmeline scowled for a moment, but then nodded shortly. "One would hope."

Caitlin's scroll began to go off rather loudly.

"Oh god," She said, reading the headline and then the email with a report beneath it. "That can't lead anywhere good."

Emmeline looked at her in concern. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you know how bad would torture against an Atlesian citizen could land in the court system?" She said, her voice shaking against her will. "Specifically torture of…of a high profile Atlesian citizen?"

Emmett raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you know, considering that sounds like what your mother went through?"

Caitlin bit her lip. "That was a rhetorical point."

"What are you talking about?" Edward stared at her almost incredulously. "Caitlin –"

"Blake, she…." Caitlin shook her head. "She admitted to torturing your daughter."

"Not me," Emmeline said, then her eyes going wide in horror. "Nicole?"

"I'm not going to describe what she said," Caitlin said, slamming her scroll shut and shoving it in her back pocket. "I'd rather not think about it…it's one of those things that you can only help but wish it wasn't true…there's no incentive for saying something like that…there just isn't."

"This is more…" Edward struggled to even articulate the horror he felt. "This is a graver situation than we previously thought."

"That might be an understatement," Emmett said darkly, looking to Emmeline in concern. "If what she said really does bring weighted consequences, that is."


	84. Chapter 84

_**November 7th  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
1:48 PM**_

"Professor Ciel," Paulina Aguirre paged through a rather large file on her desk. "I apologize for dragging you out of your lectures, but I'm afraid this is a rather disturbing report that I feel we must discuss relating to your daughter, who, of course, is a tenth year."

Spencer sighed. "She's been seeing a therapist twice a week since the middle of October, and she's -"

"Professor Ciel, she stabbed herself with a pencil in the middle of her history class today," Aguirre adjusted her glasses primly. "And they were only discussing events of the last twenty years that have influenced Atlesian government policy as a precursor to discussion of previous policies and why they needed to be changed. I know that your first wife, Natalie's mother, was brought into the discussion, and I know that the teacher -"

"Her mother is an incredibly sensitive topic for Natalie," Spencer informed her. "She remembers her more clearly than either of her brothers -"

"Matthew has not reacted this way when sensitive topics regarding the Ciel family have been brought up, though," Aguirre countered. "And he's -"

"Not clinically depressed -"

"Not acting out," Aguirre said. "And since you won't provide Natalie's medical history beyond her vaccinations -"

"If we're seeking outside treatment that's doing little, then I fail to see how Karissa and I providing her full and updated medical history would help," Spencer forced his voice to remain perfectly calm, but it felt constrained nonetheless. "My wife and I are doing everything we can to help her, we really are."

Aguirre pursed her lips. "Professor Ciel, if you can't give us proof that she's depressed, we can't –"

"Giving her detention because she had an anxiety attack –"

"Stabbing herself in the hand is not an anxiety attack," Aguirre snapped, then regaining her composure. "You and your wife can't keep writing off her behavior –"

"There's a difference between writing off someone's behavior and recognizing when they have an actual mental health problem," Spencer said tensely. "Natalie's not usually like this, she's normally sweet at home with her younger siblings. She and Matthew are close, in part because they're only a year apart in age, but she's helped Percival with homework, and she's typically affectionate with Luna."

Aguirre considered that. "Explain then incidents like this."

"Natalie was diagnosed with clinical depression a few weeks ago, after, by her own admission, hiding the fact that she's been cutting herself for almost a year," Spencer hesitated before adding. "And she also admitted that she's felt strained and almost killed herself a month ago, which explained the gun Karissa and I found in her dresser."

Aguirre narrowed her eyes. "She's a danger to herself and others, particularly with that in mind."

"She's seriously depressed and has suicidal tendencies," Spencer said. "And I am worried about what she might do to herself – or try to do to herself – but she would never hurt anyone. She's not like that."

"That has never been proven," Aguirre said. "I would never want to think of her hurting anyone, but we can't guarantee that. Psychosis does run in your family, after all."

Spencer stared at her in outrage. "That's not fair at all –"

"If I recall, your younger sister was arrested several years ago for murder and assault, amongst other things," Aguirre paused as the door opened and Karissa stepped into the room. "Madame Mar, glad you could make it."

Karissa smiled tightly. "Well, consider yourself lucky that the security council was able to reschedule."

Spencer took her hand as she sat down next to him. "You okay, 'Rissa?"

"Later," She said, and he squeezed her hand lovingly. "This is about Natalie?"

Aguirre pushed the file towards her. "Madame Mar, in the last three years she's gotten too many detentions to count, she's been suspended once for physical violence –"

"If I recall, that suspension was because she defended herself against a young man who attempted to rape her at a dance," Karissa scowled. "I pushed for that to be overturned –"

"There was never any proof, and he denied it –" Aguirre began.

"There were multiple witnesses!" Spencer exclaimed. "And that boy never faced any consequences –"

"His parents are some of the top donors to –" Aguirre said.

"And I'm the president's son!" Spencer reminded her, and Aguirre immediately straightened her composure. "And my wife is the head of the DFAMA and a member of the Atlesian National Security Council! If this was a power and politics game, then we would have won."

Aguirre shook her head. "Professor Ciel, Madame Mar –"

"Whether or not she served the suspension last year, that should be removed from her record as 'an incident of violence'," Karissa said sharply. "That was self-defense and I feel no shame in admitting that Spencer and I were proud of her for fighting back."

Aguirre went silent but then went on. "Regardless, she's gotten almost a record number of detentions for being disruptive or scaring other students or aggression or mouthing off."

"She's sixteen and emotionally repressed," Karissa said, her typical authority lacing her voice. "Of course she's going to act out, she doesn't know how to handle her emotions when they get built up. According to her therapist, that has, likely, served a large part in emboldening her self-loathing and her depression."

"I already said this to your husband, but I'll repeat myself," Aguirre narrowed her eyes at both of them. "If you continue to refuse to provide evidence of Natalie having severe mental health problems, then we cannot reconsider the source of her actions to being anything other than plays for attention."

Karissa pulled out her scroll and opened a copy of Natalie's medical records. "This," She said, pushing her scroll across the desk to Aguirre. "Shows the mental health diagnoses that Natalie has been classified under in the last year."

Aguirre all but snatched up Karissa's scroll and read through the few pages, albeit with redactions, that the woman had brought up.

"Why the redactions?" Aguirre questioned. "Why –"

"You requested my presence?" Natalie tore open the door and then slammed it behind her and sat down next to her father, crossing her arms. "Do you want to try and rip my head off again over something stupid?"

Aguirre gestured to her in exasperation. "This is the type of behavior I'm talking about."

"You okay, Nattie?" Spencer asked her gently. "It sounds like you've had a rough day."

"No kidding," She muttered. "It's like living in fucking hell."

"Language, Miss Ciel," Aguirre said. "You already have detention for that, do not earn yourself another one."

Natalie scowled at her and resisted the urge to stick out her tongue defiantly.

"Madame Mar," Aguirre said, handing her scroll back to her. "The redactions, what is their purpose?"

"Privacy concerns," Karissa said with finality. "You have to understand that, because of our position, there's quite a lot that we'd prefer not be public. Like everyone else in this kingdom, we retain the right to have our personal histories classified."

Aguirre shook her head. "I'll place a note in her file to excuse some of her…actions. But if things do not improve, there will be further talks."

Natalie looked at Spencer and Karissa, her silver eyes wide.

"You both know why I'm so afraid," She said, her voice little more than a whisper.

Spencer and Karissa shared a look before she sighed.

"Let's go," She said, and Spencer took her hand again as they left the room with Natalie following – hanging her head dejectedly. "We can talk about this later."

Natalie tugged down her sleeves. "What does that mean?"

"That we'll figure something out to help you," Spencer told her, and she sighed. "Nattie, it'll get better, I promise."

"It hasn't for you," She said as they stepped into the parking lot. "You're still addicted to diamorphine."

Spencer tensed. "Natalie –"

"Just don't," She said, ripping open the door to her car. "I'm going downtown, I'll be home later."

"Nattie, please –" Spencer started, but she took off quicker than she could respond with her heart pounding in her chest as she gripped the steering wheel tight.

The wind whipped through for a moment before Karissa placed a hand to Spencer's shoulder.

"You okay?" She said gently. "I know you're not just worried about her."

"Of course I'm not just worried about her," He said, sighing as they got into her Mercedes. "I'm worried about us, Matt, Perce, and Luna…what might happen to me…"

"You're in a better place than you ever have been," Karissa reminded him. "Things are getting better –"

He leaned over and embraced her tightly for a moment.

"I hope that's right," He said quietly. "I know I've been a mess, and I know it's not fair to you –"

"Spencer –" Karissa started tiredly.

"But I love you so much…" He whispered. "And I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"You're not going to," She promised him. "You won't."

He smiled in spite of himself and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "That's a relief to hear…"

* * *

"She…tortured her," Cristal grimaced at the thought upon Edward nodding. "That's a horrifying thought."

"She admitted to doing some awful things to her in that," Edward said, then shaking his head. "It's absolutely horrible."

"I agree," Emmeline said, pacing about her office. "Although it was a bit surprising to hear her admit to something like that."

"I'm sure the closed session was worse," Cristal said. "Considering that it meant she was able to say things she couldn't say in public."

"I don't think we've heard something that gruesome in a while," Ronnie said, then shaking his head. "This doesn't help her case at all. I heard Kiara say just the other day that she's going to be the prosecutor in the case as Nicole recently filed charges."

"Kiara Davis is one of the most aggressive federal prosecutors in the system," Edward noted. "She's the reason quite a few of terrorists and corrupt executives are in prison – Jacques Gelè, for one."

"She's done a lot of good, I agree," Emmett said, glancing to Emmeline. "But I don't know if throwing Belladonna in prison for this is a good idea. She's got a better understanding of Adam Taurus than anyone else – if we want to track him down, and he is the bigger threat, then we need her help."

"Chances are that Kiara will offer her a plea bargain she can't refuse," Cristal remarked, a bit of cynicism in her voice. "If that happens, she can consider herself lucky."

"Everything she's done is horrible," Ronnie said, "And there has been public outcry for years to have brought to the stand for the crimes she's committed. A lot of people actually feel like the system is being manipulated for the sole purpose of protecting her."

"Which in some ways it has been," Emmeline said, crossing her arms. "She's done quite a bit of good in the last ten years, but that doesn't mean we can write off every atrocity she's ever committed just because we like her. That'd be arguably worse than –"

"Please don't go down that rabbit hole," Ronnie said, and his sister sighed. "I have a hard enough time accepting what I've done already."

"You and Brie are nowhere near her level of nefarious," Edward said sharply. "I'm not saying I think what you did for her sake was right, but you've never tortured, or murdered, or –"

"Done any of the many, many things that she's guilty of," Emmett sighed. "It's hard to accept, it really is. She's not like this anymore, she's changed –"

"Or she's acting like she has," Cristal countered, adjusting her glasses. "She could very well be trying to do exactly what our mother tried when she –"

"I don't think she's doing what mom did," Emmett said. "If only because mom had an actual motivation –"

"And she doesn't?" Cristal said, staring at him incredulously. "I'd argue she has every motive!"

"She's not wrong," Ronnie said, and Cristal gestured to him dramatically. "The fact of the matter remains that she's admitted to being infatuated with Taurus, that she –"

"We know," Emmeline said tersely. "But that doesn't mean we can go around persecuting every single person with a fucked up history. I say we encourage her to take a plea bargain in which she faces no jail time so we can catch Taurus. He's the one we should actually be concerned about."

Edward nodded. "If anything, he's the one whose more dangerous in the end."

Further downtown, with Weiss visiting her sister, brother in law, and niece while Ruby was in Vale, Yang and Blake found an unusual moment alone. Blake stared out the window in their bedroom, taking in the sounds of the city and the constant influx of people from all over the kingdom and the world. For the last hour, Yang had been doing repairs to Ember Celica and her cybernetic arm. Since the day of her open session testimony, it seemed that everything about her life had slowly made a turn for the worst. Even outside of Atlas, the news of the darkest part of her past had made headlines. No one was particularly eager to trust her, and, considering everything, she wasn't sure if she was eager to trust herself. It seemed as if everything had become a mess from which she knew not yet how she could escape. Everywhere she went, she got watched. People's eyes were torn between curiosity, disgust, intrigue and, disturbingly, even some praise.

" _Alright!" A young faunus boy had shouted as she stepped into a relatively secluding café. "There she is! The avenger, the one who will bring us to triumph!"_

 _Blake had shaken her head. "If you're –"_

" _You showed President Ciel what the faunus can really do if he and his family keep equivocating!" A woman yelled, drawing out her claws. "This will teach them to stop making false promises!"_

" _You're all wrong!" Blake snapped, fighting back tears. "Violence isn't the answer, it's only going to make things worse!"_

" _How can it make things worse when it's effective?" The young boy had stared at her. "The humans use any means necessary to achieve their ends, so why can't we?"_

Shaking away the thought, she gripped the window sill tighter. Everything about her past screamed at her, tormenting her as she imagined it would until the day she died. She hated from where she came. The things she had done, what she had supported. There was nothing besides her identity as a faunus that she was proud of. Even that seemed to be in question to her mind sometimes. She tried to push it away, telling herself that the only reason she was thinking like that was because of the way things were in Atlas, but she knew she was lying to herself. Every so often, she would wake up in the middle of the night and see Yang sleeping next to her. Though she knew her partner's life was, in some ways, harder than her own, she couldn't help but feel the faintest bit of jealousy.

But what hurt the most was that, in the last month, she had firmly decided that what Torchwick had said to her nearly ten years prior had been right.

" _You're no worse than I am."_

And it were those words that reverberated in her mind, again.

"Blake?" Yang hesitantly opened the door. "Can we talk?"

Blake sighed. "Might as well before they send me to prison."

"Ugh, she actually brought charges against you?" Yang rolled her eyes. "Neo's not going to win, you're –"

"I did something horrible, Yang," Blake said, all but collapsing back into their bed. "And nothing is going to change that. This case is going to court, and I can only hope that I don't get sentenced to forever and ever amen in prison. I've all but already plead guilty. There's no point in fighting it."

"Of course there's a point in fighting it!" Yang exclaimed. "How can you not fight it?"

"Because we all know that I'll be sent to a lifetime in prison if I do!" Blake closed her eyes dejectedly and ran her hands through her hair. "Yang, they're going to send me to prison whether or not either of us are happy with it. They don't trust me to begin with because of my past – I'm lucky to be a free person as it is."

Yang sat down on the bed next to her, placing her natural hand over her partner's forehead. "I wish there was something I could do to help."

"I wish that I had never laid a finger to Nicole Ciel…" Blake whispered. "The system is going to destroy me for it, any jury that gets chosen – even if they're all levelheaded faunus – is going to think less of me for doing something that horrible. The only people who think I'm right are members of the White Fang that think violence is the only answer we'll ever have to dealing with abuses by the humans. I am always going to be viewed as a terrorist by the public, especially after this, and I'm never going to be able to escape my past in my own mind."

"Blake," Yang said, leaning over and kissing her cheek. "You're not that person anymore. I don't like what you did, and I'm not going to lie and say that it doesn't bother me, but I still love you. Actually…"

Blake's eyes went wide upon Yang pulling a moonstone ring out of her pocket. "Yang –"

"I want to marry you," She said, reaching for her hand. "I honestly do."

Blake sat up and let her push the ring onto her hand. "Oh, Yang…"

"I don't care what comes out of this," She told her, wrapping her arm tightly around her. "You're always going to just be Blake to me Okay?"

Blake nodded. "I love you so damn much."

Yang smiled. "I love you too."


	85. Chapter 85

_**November 9th  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
8:15 PM**_

Elizabeth scowled at her husband as Blake entered the Atlas Academy ballroom. "Finally had that stick taken out of your ass?" She said.

"Charming, Lizzie," Blake remarked. "And I should ask the same of you."

"Can you two not have a go at it?" Glynda looked at both of them in exasperation. "I know that you two are not on the best of terms right now, but can we not have to worry about something ridiculous happening at the dance because you two hate each other?"

"I don't hate him," Elizabeth said haughtily. "I'm simply waiting for him to apologize."

"For what?" Blake asked. "For being right? Or for being –"

"Shut up," Elizabeth snapped. "I'm not in the mood, I'm really not."

"This isn't productive," Glynda restrained herself from being condescending. "So, please, just –"

"Glynda, if this turns into the Fall of Beacon –" Elizabeth started.

"Oh, for god's sake, Lizzie!" Cristal snapped, although she sent her a sympathetic look. "There's not going to be a –"

"Do you have any idea how dangerous –"

"Elizabeth," Glynda said, sending her a pointed look. "I know that you're strained because of what's happening in Atlas –"

"Because the things that the Council has heard recently aren't horrifying," Elizabeth said, rolling her eyes. "Of course, Glynda, I have no reason to be worried am just overreacting."

Michael took her hand tightly in his. "Eliza –"

"I'm not standing down, I don't care that you always want to avoid conflict or try to satisfy everyone," Elizabeth sent him a pointed look. "There are some things that can't be solved with the right words, or a treaty, or the –"

"Lizzie –" Glynda said worriedly as sparks flicked from the other woman's nails.

"I'm sick and tired of everyone pretending that things are going to be okay!" She snapped, activating the power she had tried to keep hidden for the last decade as she started to pace. "This kingdom is at a greater threat for war than perhaps it ever has been in the last century, and –"

"Elizabeth?" Ozpin stared at her in shock for a moment, and she crossed her arms and looked away from all of them. "You're the Summer Maiden?"

She sighed. "If that wasn't immensely obvious…"

An uncanny silence hung over the ballroom, only being broken by the sound of sparks fizzling out shortly before James, Emmeline, and Emmett stepped into the room themselves.

"Is someone dead?" Emmett asked in an attempt to break the tension, although Emmeline elbowed him sharply. "Oh, come on, Emmy, that –"

"Turns out Lizzie's the Summer Maiden," Blake said, earning another scowl from her. "What? You're the one that lost your temper and let that come to light."

"If you think that by any means you are pissing me off less –"

"How long have you been the Maiden?" Glynda asked her. "You know we've –"

"After everything, and knowing that…" Elizabeth shook her head. "I didn't want anyone to know, not with Cinder being the Fall Maiden. The more people who know, the more likely it is that She'll go after me again."

"That doesn't answer my question," Glynda reminded her. "How long have you been the Maiden?"

Elizabeth bit her lip. "Ten years."

Silence fell over them once more.

"Ten years?" Michael finally said. "You've been the Summer Maiden for ten years and, of all people, you didn't tell me? Eliza, I thought –"

"I'm sorry!" She forced herself not to scream although there was something about her voice that felt rather close. "But how was I supposed to? How was I supposed to let any of this ever come to light even to a few people?"

"Lizzie –" Emmeline started, but the woman stormed out of the room before any of them could interject another word.

"That was…" James glanced to Glynda for a moment before shaking his head. "And we've spent all this time wondering what was putting her on edge."

Michael hesitated for a moment but then ran after his wife.

"I should probably…" Blake bit his lip. "I should probably apologize, I've…said a lot of unfair things to her in the last few years and…"

"I told you," Emmett said, and Emmeline groaned. "Well, what else was I supposed assume?"

"Maybe I don't give your psychic abilities more credit," She muttered. "Fine, you were right."

Emmett smiled and kissed her cheek. "That's all I wanted to hear."

"Be serious," Cristal said, giving her brother a sharp look. "This is bad enough as it is –"

"That much is obvious," James said. "But we can't force her to do anything if she doesn't want to –"

"And I'm sure that this is the last thing she wants to talk about right now," Cristal said, sharing a look with Ozpin, who sighed. "At least, with all things considered."

"I agree," Ozpin said, wrapping an arm around her. "As we all know history can attest to, pushing Elizabeth to the edge only makes things worse."

Blake considered that. "But we can't let this lie forever. The fact remains –"

"Lizzie can do whatever she wants with her powers," Cristal told him. "Believe me, the last thing you want is for her to want to fight you."

"Haven't you noticed?" Blake said dryly. "She and I have spent the last few years fighting."

"That's not entirely true," Emmeline reminded him. "It's primarily been when you've asked her to do things that you were too much of a –"

"I'm pretty sure you've called me whatever you're about to before," Blake said tiredly. "So, I'm sure, you don't need to go on."

Emmeline raised an eyebrow but then shook her head. "Alright then."

"Fighting amongst ourselves isn't getting us anywhere," James said calmly. "And we've got other things to worry about right now. Elizabeth snapping isn't what we should focus on, if anything we should be concerned about some of other things that have…come to light."

"Are you referring to the case Kiara Davis is bringing forward?" Ozpin asked him, and he nodded. "Of all the things that I was expecting to come out of this, that was not one of them. To be honest, I think Kiara might be going too far."

"Too far?" Emmeline's eyes flared. "The woman in question that she's prosecuting committed acts of violence and torture against my sister with her only justification being that she was 'young and infatuated' and 'blinded' and 'enraged' and 'acting to stick it to President Ciel' –"

"Emmeline, we all agree what she did was horrible," Ozpin said. "But the kingdom of Atlas can't go around prosecuting every –"

"The rule of law applies to everyone, regardless of which kingdom they –"

"Ironically, except for several people high up in the Atlesian government," Ozpin said, and all of them stared at him. "Including Ronnie and Brianna."

An awkward silence passed amongst them.

"What are we even doing?" Cristal said, sighing heavily. "What are we even doing, if things are like this?"

* * *

"It's odd to have things going at a more typical pace," Brianna remarked. "At least, since the Council isn't having us stay late every day for hearings."

Karissa sighed. "On the other hand, that means that they're giving the senators and representatives time to interrogate people publicly. If it were up to us, the Belladonna case would already be in the court system."

"You mean people like us," Ronnie said. "At least, considering that we all know that this case is going to really come down to Kiara's discretion."

"That's not how it's supposed to work," Brianna reminded him. "The judge and the jury will decide where she ends up, not Kiara –"

"If she ends up in court," Karissa countered. "Ronnie's probably right, Brie, that Kiara's going to be the deciding factor here. The chances are still high that she's going to offer Belladonna a plea deal that she can't refuse."

Brianna glanced down at her hands. "I still don't think that's right."

"Whether it is or isn't is not the problem," Karissa said. "Because, at the end of the day, limiting the power of prosecutors is something that would have to come from the legislature – in which no one has any desire to do so."

"Of course they don't," Spencer said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "And, to be honest, it's part of the system and it makes sense."

"It makes sense if you're like us," Brianna said, twisting her hair anxiously. "And have the power, connexions, money, and, tangentially, status to have whatever we want whenever we want it. We don't have to worry about ever spending a day in prison because we could get things overturned, we could –"

"Mommy?" Seven-year-old Ryan Ciel stepped into the room, his dark hair hanging over his eyes and a blanket wrapped tightly around him. "Can you tuck me in?"

Brianna smiled in spite of her worries as she got up. "Of course, Ryan."

Ryan grinned as she picked him up into her arms. "'Night, daddy!"

"'Night, Ryan." Ronnie said, sharing a concerned look with Brianna for a moment before she walked off down the hall.

"You're still worried about the two of you getting into trouble with the law, aren't you?" Karissa sent him a sharp look. "Ronnie –"

"You don't understand," Ronnie snapped, then sighing. "Karissa, there's still a chance that what Brie and I did –"

"What _you_ did," Karissa said. "If I recall, she was completely against you acting to –"

"What choice did I have?" Ronnie exclaimed in exasperation. "Spencer, you understand –"

"Well, yes," He said, biting his lip. "But that doesn't mean that I think it was the best way to handle it –"

"How could I not, though?" Ronnie countered. "Especially after I found out that Brie was pregnant –"

"There wasn't a legal loophole that you could have –" Spencer started.

"No, there wasn't," Ronnie paused for a moment to adjust his glasses and force himself to remain as calm as possible. "I know that dad –"

"Edward was pissed," Karissa reminded him. "And the fact of what you did still sets the two of you at odds whenever the subject comes up –"

"I know that," Ronnie said. "But –"

"I know why you're worried, but you enacted one of the best coverups in our kingdom's history!" Karissa stared at him, torn between sympathy and irritation. "And you and I have had more than enough arguments on this subject. Just because I've protected you doesn't mean that I agree with what you did, especially since, by this point, you've implicated the entire family in your secret scandal."

Ronnie went silent, unsure of how to respond.

"What exactly happened?" Brianna said as she stepped back into the room. "Ronnie, are you alright?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Brie," He told her, his voice almost toneless. "Just discussing some of the…issues that have cropped up for the Council."

Brianna raised an eyebrow. "Why don't I believe you?"

"Because Ronnie's good at making it seem like things didn't happen, but is nonetheless a terrible liar," Spencer remarked, and Ronnie scowled. "That's true, I'm not going to apologize for it."

Brianna paled. "Oh, god, Ronnie, did –"

"No one knows," He said as calmly as he could manage. "At least, no one who isn't keeping it quiet. I promise, nothing is going to happen because of what we did."

Karissa sighed. "Ronnie –"

"What I did," He said, then shaking his head. "Brie, it's going to be alright –"

"So we hope," She said softly, flinching as she iced over the counter upon her fingers brushing over it. "Damn it…"

"Brie…" Ronnie said, coming over to her and embracing her tightly. "Please don't keep worrying about this."

"He's right," Karissa told her. "There's no point in worrying about it, Brie, when you're more than completely protected."

"I…" Brianna shook her head. "Maybe I'm being irrational. It's been nearly ten years, why am I still worrying about this?"

"The same reason I…" Spencer trailed off for a moment. "The same reason I still worry about how long I have to live…"

Brianna stared. "Spencer –"

"I know you feel guilty about what happened, even though you've done everything you can to make up for it," He said as Karissa pulled him in close to her. "And I…believe me, every time that I've fallen back, I…well…"

"You've gotten better though," Brianna said, then going silent. "That was out of line, whatever I feel guilty about is nothing compared to what you're still –"

"Look," Spencer said, his voice breaking for a moment. "Just because we've done things we regret doesn't mean that things haven't gotten better. Your family is safe, and I'm…I'm closer to sober than I ever have been –"

"Spencer –" Brianna said, her voice shaking.

"There's nothing wrong with being worried about things because of…because of your past," Spencer said as Karissa took his hand in hers and squeezed it lovingly. "Really, if there was, I'd be damned several times over."

"At least, for now, things are alright," Karissa said, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. "Let's just live, at least for while we can."

* * *

"I'm sorry to hear about what's been happening to your team," Winter said, sending her sister a sympathetic look. "I know it's difficult dealing with the fact that Blake's not…"

"She's not who I thought she was," Weiss said, staring almost blankly into her coffee. "Or maybe she is, and this is some sort of disgusting publicity stunt. Probably the former…"

"Don't be like that," Qrow said from the peninsula in the kitchen at which seven-year-old Raquelle Branwen was drawing in a small notebook. "Whether she did it or not, she's still your teammate, just like Raven's still my sister."

"And look how well the two of you get along," Winter said, and he sighed. "Qrow, if this stands, Blake committed a serious crime –"

"Funny how the Atlas Council only cares about torture and its immorality when we're talking about what is being done to Atlesian citizens," Qrow said dryly. "Even when those citizens have done horrible things themselves. Which, as it happens, Nicole has."

"That still doesn't justify what was done to her," Winter crossed her arms as she stood up and began to pace. "Making the crimes that they have committed morally equivalent is a dangerous –"

"My point still stands," Qrow said. "Because, at the end of the day, we all know that the only reason Nicole was ever acquitted was because she's President Ciel's daughter."

"I don't think that's entirely true," Weiss said. "Everyone knows that she's –"

"Look, either way, things were swayed in her favor because of who she is," Qrow shook his head. "It's a little unnerving, seeing how Atlas lets everything fall in the favor of the people with the means to have it."

"We're included in that," Winter reminded him. "Don't forget that."

"Forget what?" Raquelle asked, sliding a headphone off of her ears. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing important," Winter told her, and the young girl pouted. "Raquelle, you're too young for some of the things your father, aunt, and I have to deal with."

Raquelle bit her lip, but then hopped down from the chair and slowly trudged off down the hall.

"At least she took the hint," Weiss said, sounding a bit resigned. "I hope she'll never have to deal with something like this."

"Weiss," Winter said a bit tiredly. "Whatever happens to Blake is going to be completely out of our control. And, to be honest, if she committed the crimes that she claims that she did, then she shouldn't be exempt from going to jail."

"Here's where you and I disagree," Qrow said, pulling out his flask and taking a swig in spite of the glare his wife sent him. "You turned the other cheek when it was Ronnie and Brianna, but now that it's –"

"Those were completely different circumstances –"

"Were they?" Qrow countered. "Win, at the end of the day, it comes back around to whether or not rule of law should apply to everyone. You've never trusted Blake, yet you've always trusted your uncle and his wife. How is it that you can –"

"Because what they did was civil, what she did was criminal," Winter snapped. "Ronnie and Brianna committed crimes which, if they had come to light, would have probably cost them only their jobs and that wouldn't have been much to them because of their personal wealth. In contrast, Blake has admitted to, beyond the torture she says she inflicted upon Nicole Ciel, murder, grand theft, money laundering, tax evasion, inciting violence, public rioting –"

"Win, how can you not hear how hypocritical you and everyone else in this kingdom sound?" Qrow stared at her almost incredulously. "I love you, Win, but this is beneath you."

She narrowed her eyes. "How exactly is being in favor of –"

"Because it's doing the same thing Atlas has always done," Qrow said, and she flinched a bit in spite of herself. "Which is protect those who have the means and status to be protected."

"Things aren't like that –" She protested.

"Yes, they are," Weiss said quietly. "In the last few years, amongst other things, that's become abundantly clear."

Winter glanced to her in surprise. "Weiss, things have changed since our father –"

"This doesn't have anything to do with him, or the things he did to the family, and the things he did to the company!" Weiss exclaimed. "This is about the way that we've been playing into Salem's hand, we've been giving her exactly what she wants! We're divided, we're being torn apart –"

"It's not that bad –" Winter started.

"Yes, it is!" Weiss snapped, then sighing heavily and shaking her head. "It is that bad, and we're only facilitating that. In the legislature, in the executive departments, in the courts, in everything!"

A silence fell over them, only broken by the sounds of the city heard through the windows. Within a few minutes, Weiss stepped out, leaving her sister and brother-in-law to themselves while she passed through an hour in the streets of Atlas – wishing that she could set aside the things that were slowly unraveling and were set to destroy them, set to be the downfall of them all.


	86. Chapter 86

_**November 13th  
**_ _ **City of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **6:19 PM**_

"Elizabeth's the Summer Maiden?" Qrow stared at James in surprise. "Of all the people to be a maiden, she is one of the last people that I would expect to be one."

"That's how we all felt," James sighed. "Blake Adel feels incredibly guilty as a result. Apparently he thinks now that Elizabeth right in everything they've ever disagreed on and that he's been 'nothing but unfair' to her for the last decade which, as it happens, is how long she's had the powers."

Qrow grimaced at the thought.

"Ten years?" He eventually got out. "Elizabeth Morell has had the powers of the Summer Maiden for an entire decade, and she convinced herself that no one should know?"

"Even her husband didn't know," James said. "And, after what happened with Cinder, he thought that she'd told him everything. They're…well, he's more concerned for her than ever because of it."

"Because he thinks there's more than one reason that she has to be afraid?" Qrow questioned, and James nodded. "Of course."

"Michael, even though he's only known for a few days, is convinced that it's not just Cinder who is after his wife," James said, unsure of how much he should say but going on nonetheless. "Elizabeth keeps telling him that she doesn't want to think about it, that she wants them to focus on their lives, but…"

"It's not just about her," Qrow finished. "I hope Elizabeth knows that, because if she doesn't…"

"She does," James said a bit defensively. "I've known her a long time, and even though she and I don't always agree…well, I know full well that if she's concerned that she's got good reason to be. Especially, when you think about it, this feels similar to the way she acted when Cinder was torturing her."

"And raping, and belittling her…" Qrow shook his head. "I genuinely feel bad for Liz, but that doesn't mean I think she should have kept this quiet. We can protect her, for god's sake!"

"You know just as well as I do that she has no faith in Ozpin's ability to defeat Salem," James sent him a pointed look. "She and him see eye to eye on quite a bit, but that will never be one of them."

Qrow rolled his eyes. "Elizabeth isn't ever going trust Ozpin's ability to defeat Salem until he actually does. I'm not saying I don't have some doubts – with everything that's happened – but Ozpin –"

"Qrow," James said in slight exasperation. "You're missing the point."

"Which is?" He asked. "That Liz is full of herself, her position, her power? That she refuses to trust the majority of the people who could protect her?"

"Because of course she wouldn't want anyone to know!" James stared at him for a moment before going on. "It doesn't just have to do with not being targeted, although that's part of it. It has to do with the idea of being drafted into this war with Salem, a war she doesn't want direct involvement in –"

"Because Liz couldn't care less about what happens to anyone outside of a small handful of people that she –" Qrow started.

"Qrow," James said, a hint of irritation in his voice. "She's more than willing to fight through kingdom politics, but she's doesn't want to confront Salem herself. And, after everything she's been through, I can't blame her."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really, you can't blame her?"

"If you think about it, she has a point," James said, and Qrow sighed. "Look, the fact of the matter is that Elizabeth's been through enough. Pressing her on the fact that she's the Summer Maiden is just going to make things worse. Believe me, it's bad enough."

"That's pretty clear," Qrow said, then shaking his head. "I wish she understood that she can't be like Raven over her powers, that she can't run away from them or hide them."

"She hasn't run away from them, she actually is scarily competent with them," James glanced at the clock. "I asked her if she could demonstrate them just a little because I was curious, and, honestly, it was scary. She's more than able to use them, and she's more than able to fight with them. They're just a little more tied to her emotions that the powers typically are."

Qrow shrugged. "Raven revealed hers to Yang by losing her temper. Sounds like Elizabeth did the same, except more openly."

"Do yourself a favor and don't compare her to Raven to either of their faces," James said, and Qrow laughed. "I'm serious about that. You should know better than anyone that both of them would want to kill you for that."

"I'm sure they would," Qrow said with half a smirk. "And I also think that they may already share that sentiment."

"That's an exaggeration," James told him. "Even Raven doesn't want to kill you."

Qrow considered that. "Well…"

"Why the hell would she want to kill you?" He asked him. "What have you ever done that was so horrible for her that she'd want you dead?"

"I would say 'ever be born' or 'breathe' but I have a feeling that you'd get annoyed if I did," Qrow replied. "Or you'd call me impossible. Or both."

"You've more than earned being called any of those things," James replied. "Considering that you go out of your way to be impossible when it comes to logic or reason."

"That's comforting," Qrow said dryly. "With everything that's happened lately, I'm kinda shocked we're this fixated on the fact that Elizabeth is a maiden and didn't tell us. Do you think under normal circumstances she'd want to tell us?"

"Probably not," James admitted. "But not without good reason."

Neither of them spoke again for a long moment.

"So…" Qrow finally said. "On a lighter note, how have your kids been? Considering that they're eight and all."

James raised an eyebrow. "They're perfectly fine. Why? Did your daughter do something?"

"If going out with a friend into the woods outside of the city of Mantle while Win and I were there with her a few weeks ago, and then swimming in a cold river, counts, then yes," Qrow rolled his eyes. "Win was pissed when she found out…although more so at me for not paying enough attention to where she was. But what was I supposed to do? She told me that she was going to hang out with a friend –"

"Qrow, you should have been concerned by that," James sent him a sharp look. "You should know by now that things in Atlas are nothing like they are in Vale, hell on Patch –"

"I'm on missions outside of the kingdom more often than not," Qrow countered. "And that's even more true now, since Win is being kept in the kingdom more and more by you –"

"Because the Council needs her in –"

"Because you are a pawn of what Karissa Mar, Elizabeth Morell, Ronnie Ciel, and Kiara Davis want," Qrow said, and James scowled. "Oh, don't tell me that I'm wrong. You know full well –"

"I am not –"

"James," Qrow said. "If you weren't a pawn to them, then you would have done something about what Kiara and the Ciels are trying to do to Blake –"

"Miss Belladonna is going through the same legal process that anyone in her position would be subjected to," James said tensely. "There's nothing wrong about what –"

"Yeah?" Qrow said. "Interesting how you and literally everyone else in the group cares about this and not what Ronnie and Brianna did –"

"That was different," James said, and he sighed. "Things are more complicated than you're willing to give them credit for being, Qrow, and that's only becoming clearer and clearer."

* * *

"I see his point," Glynda said slowly. "But, at the same time, he really does lack understanding of the way things work here in Atlas."

Winter sighed heavily. "Glynda…"

"After all this time, he should know how things work here, goddamnit!" Glynda shook her head. "Winter, I know you want to justify his lack of understanding, but if I can understand Atlas on the intricate level that I do, then he can as well."

Winter scowled. "That's not fair."

"In contrast, I think it's completely fair," Glynda sent her a sympathetic look. "Winter, he can't just go around acting like this. Atlas is not like Vale at all, and they're following the established procedure here which, frankly, is a system that has held up better. You know that, you have to."

She bit her lip. "And if I don't?"

"Then you're being intentionally ignorant," Glynda said pointedly. "He's not going to accept the way things are, he's not going to accept the facts, and, I'm sure, he's going to be a dick when he finds out about Elizabeth's powers."

"She didn't have to hide them for a decade –"

"She had every reason and right to," Glynda countered. "Of course she's scared, after everything she's been through, I can hardly blame her. None of us can."

"I know that," Winter said, glancing out the window. "But she still should have said something."

"Which doesn't matter because the fact remains that she didn't," Glynda sighed and adjusted her glasses before going on. "Winter, we're fighting amongst ourselves more and more these days, and it's getting us nowhere. If we keep staying this polarized, we're going to play right into Salem's hand…and I'm sure that she of all people knows that."

* * *

"How exactly are we going to spring her?" Varna scowled at Victoria from across the table. "Cinder's one of the most high-profile prisoners being held by the kingdom of Atlas."

"And you're not worried about how we're going to remove Watts from their custody?" Victoria raised an eyebrow. "You're remarkably ignorant, for such an influential politician. Your people don't even know that you're using your position to massively enrich yourself and subdue the people."

Varna pursed her lips. "And you're not corrupt? Didn't you put your son-in-law in power of your husband's company after your two kids died –"

"Turned out that they hadn't actually died –" Victoria said through gritted teeth.

"Stop," Salem said, her voice eerily clipped and calm. "Rosalinde is actually correct on that matter. Emmett and Cristal had in fact been dead."

Victoria paled. "I beg your pardon?"

"How is it that you can still question our Queen –" Tyrion started.

"Tyrion," Salem said, gesturing towards the door. "Leave. Find Hazel, he already has the instructions for the two of you to free Watts. I will deal with this matter through Rosalinde and Victoria, who will be aided by Emerald and Mercury."

The green haired woman and silver haired young man shared a look.

"The two of you may leave as well," Salem said, and Emerald and Mercury left after Tyrion with more swiftness than could have been anticipated. "Now…" She said, tapping her nails against the table. "Where was I…"

Varna smirked at Victoria. "Informing the former Madame Schnee of the true fate of her children…"

Salem raised an eyebrow at her tone, but nonetheless beckoned a seer towards her.

"Emmett and Cristal did in fact die in that White Fang attack," Salem said, then turning to the seer with narrowed eyes. "Rewind to thirty-five years ago. Schnee Dust Company World Headquarters, city of Atlas. Right before the attacks."

Victoria looked away as the seer went through various swirled images of her family – good and bad alike. Swallowing hard, she tried to not think too hard about what she knew she was going to be subjected to seeing. The news reports, the rubble, only finding her son's wedding ring had been bad enough.

"Why don't you take a look?" Salem said with a sinister smirk, and Victoria, her grey eyes betraying her attempts to be unemotional, forced herself to see what had truly happened.

 _As Cristal's heels clicked against the ground, she tried to push away the anxiety she felt upon noticing a civilian transport that was flying far too close to the complex. It was only a few seconds later that calamity took over. The transport, instead of diverting the building, crashed itself, as it would later be found to have been an intentional act of terrorism, into the floor just below the boardroom. The building shook from the jolt, smoke and fire started to fill the air. The floor gave way quickly, and the ceiling collapsed on top of them. The flames engulfed them mercilessly, the smoke filled their lungs, but it was the fall through several floors killed them instantly. The scene shifted to after math. All that was left of the SDC's World Headquarters and the adjoining building was ash and rubble._

 _A couple miles away, the DFAMA, DLNLE, DOJ, DCCCP, and DCCCI offices were attacked by the White Fang as well but were, in spite of that, in a better state. A sharp tension, a piercing feeling of horror pervaded everything. People were standing near the rubble as the military, police, and fire and health workers cleared and searched for any survivors or retrieving the bodies. A stately black car pulled up by the scene first, and the commotion that was at scene did not abate much even as Senator Ciel stepped out of the car – his daughter and eldest son with him. The young sergeant stared at the scene in utter horror, her hands shaking. Her uniform was a bit tight around her midsection – her pregnancy only just beginning to show. For a moment, they did nothing but, shortly before people noticed them, sergeant Emmeline Ciel started to run towards the rubble, praying that her husband was still alive, that he was one of the few survivors._

" _Emmeline –" The senator started._

" _Is he –" She began, trying to push her way through the crowd as the dust continued to settle._

" _Madame Ciel," A young doctor said. "He's not…there…there was…there was only this…"_

 _Emmeline looked as if she was going to be sick as the man placed the silver ring into her hand. Fingering it, she looked for the engraving – all her hope going to it not being there and still allowing the possibility that Emmett was alright. But her hopes were dashed. Her hands shaking, she slipped the ring into her pocket and then, forcing herself not to cry publicly, she quickly made her way back over to the car. Slipping into the front, she refused to let anyone see her face so long as it was not composed. It was not until an hour later, when she got back to the townhouse and had changed into her silk nightpants and camisole, that she finally snapped. The shock wore off, and, upon opening her scroll for the first time the entire day, she broke down upon reading the last message Emmett had sent her._

I'll be home early tonight, Emmy. _He had written._ Love you, sweetheart. Hope things will be alright for you, I know the Council can give you shit sometimes. I promise we'll talk tonight. I love you.

 _But while Emmeline tried to leave and process on her own without anyone knowing what she was going through, others were not so restrained. It was not long after she left that Nicholas and Victoria Schnee arrived at the scene alongside Ozpin. Victoria, to much shock, was at an utter loss for words but her anger came to light quickly upon her son-in-law arriving as well. Jacques Gelè stepped out of his own car haughtily, albeit with genuine horror upon seeing the extent of the damage. Stepping over towards Nicholas and Victoria, he allowed a silence to hang for quite a long moment as the commotion continued at the scene of destruction. Senator Ciel and his eldest son were still tying for as much information as possible, trying in vain to find that, at the very least, Emmett and Cristal Schnee had survived. Ozpin, too, tried to get past the guards to find Cristal but was soon informed of her death. This went on for several minutes, but, eventually, Jacques spoke._

" _What are we going to do now?" He asked, his voice low. "With Emmett and Cristal gone? With no board of directors?"_

 _Victoria scowled. "That's what you care about?"_

" _Someone has to be rational in times of tragedy," He replied. "I can take this company and bring it back to what it was, if you only give me the money and the time –"_

" _Not now," Nicholas said, breaking off and coughs and tears rising in his eyes. "They…they can't be dead, can they?"_

 _Victoria broke down in spite of herself in that realization, her eyes wide before she collapsed into tears._

" _Oh my god…" She said, and Nicholas, in spite of their difficulties, embraced her tightly as she cried. "No…no...they can't be…"_

"So," Salem said as she dismissed the seer and observed how Victoria was looking away, her fists clenched. "You are still affected by this."

"How could I not be?" She snapped. "That was one of the worst times in my life –"

"Let go of your inhibitions, of your weaknesses," Salem said calmly, putting a hand up. "You can be more than this, Victoria. Don't give into your emotions, fight back against them. Your children have chosen their sides, as have you. Do not forget that. I'm sure Ashlynn hasn't."

Victoria scowled. "May I leave?"

Salem smiled in half amusement. "Yes," She said. "You may."

Victoria all but stormed out of the room, the doors slamming behind her.

"That was…interesting to say the least," Varna noted. "At least, considering how she's usually like."

Salem considered that. "Don't think much of it, that was intended to provoke her. After all, I know _your_ weakness."

Varna tensed as Salem summoned the seer back and it showed Ozpin and Cristal tightly in each other's arms.

"Your love for him is not lost on me," Salem informed her. "But he'll never love you…at this point, it's only Cristal Annabelle Schnee that he loves in such a deep way…but it will never be you, and we both know that whatever you have will never be enough without that. It will _never_ be enough."


	87. Chapter 87

_**November 19th  
**_ _ **City of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **9:53 PM**_

"Emmett, stop trying to kill yourself," Cristal said, rolling her eyes as her brother started to brew an unholy cup of coffee. "You look stupid drinking coffee with it being nearly ten, but the amount –"

"I'm fine," He told her with a smirk. "There's nothing wrong with coffee."

"In the way you drink it?" Emmeline sent him a sharp look as she finally managed to pull her amass of hair into a high bun. "You've been doing this since…well, since a few months before Ari and Ella were born. Chrissy's right, it looks stupid."

Emmett grinned as he wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her cheek. "Emmy, I know it turns you on."

She scowled. "Your coffee habit is not sexy."

"What is, then?" He questioned. "My glasses? My shoulder length, wavy white hair? My shortness at 5'11'' –"

"You're over a foot taller than me!" Cristal exclaimed. "And I'm your twin! You can't call yourself short!"

Emmett shrugged. "I suppose that since Blake Adel is only 5'9'' that I'm not too short. Although your husband is 6'6'' and –"

"Emmett," Emmeline said, sending him a sharp look. "Set down the coffee."

He sighed but did so and pulled her tightly into his arms. "So…" He said with a half smirk. "What exactly is it that you find sexy about me?"

"Don't even start," Emmeline told him. "You're one of the most attractive men on the planet, don't act as if you –"

"Alright," He said, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "Love you, Emmy."

She smiled. "I love you too, Emmett."

"I told you they were going to be mushy!" Ari all but shrieked at her sister. "And it's not my fault –"

"You ruined my hair!" Ella stormed into the room, her arms crossed. "And –"

"What happened to you?" Emmeline stared at her daughter in surprise and concern. "You look like –"

"Ari cut bangs funny!" Ella said, running over to her mother who quickly picked her up and then set her down on the counter. "They're in my eyes, and my curls look silly!"

Emmett glanced to Ari. "What possessed you?"

"She asked me to!" Ari protested. "She said she wanted bangs, and I told her I could do it –"

"Something you should know," Cristal said, sending her niece a pointed look. "Is that just because you think you can do something to your sibling, doesn't mean you can. Believe me, I gave Emmett an even worse haircut when we were eight."

Emmett scowled. "You're understating that."

"I know," Cristal said. "But you have a tendency to overstate things. Aren't we really just even on that scale?"

He considered that. "Touché."

Cristal smirked. "This is why I'm the CEO and you're not."

"No, you're the CEO and I'm not because I don't want two jobs because my wife and I both have to do a lot of work," Emmett countered. "You and Ozpin have more flexible schedules than Emmy and I do."

Emmeline laughed. "If we had more flexible schedules, we'd actually have an active social life."

"You don't like people, though," Emmett said, and she rolled her eyes. "That's true, I'm not going to tell you I didn't mean something that's true."

"Mommy…" Ella whined. "Can you please fix my hair?"

Emmeline sighed and pulled a pair of scissors out from the drawer. "Sit still."

"Are you sure you want to cut her hair?" Cristal asked her. "If you mess this up –"

"I will take these to your hair in your sleep if you keep talking and are the reason I make a mistake," Emmeline told her, and Cristal shivered at the thought. "Understood?"

"Like hell…" Cristal muttered.

"That's how I felt after you cut my hair and it had to be short for a while because of what you did to me," Emmett said with a smirk. "Believe me, I am not going to let that go."

"Your ego is so inflated sometimes that I'm shocked you can live," Cristal remarked, playfully punching her brother's shoulder. "Then again…"

"And you don't have a similar problem?" Emmett said, and she laughed. "See? We're Schnees. That's just one of the consequences of being a Schnee."

"Almost done…" Emmeline pulled the last bit of her daughter's hair forward to snip the girl's bangs even. "There."

Ella glanced towards the mirror on the other side of the room and then sighed in relief. "I'm glad you know how to do things, mommy."

"We all are," Emmeline said, embracing her for a moment and then helping her down. "I'll see you in the morning."

Ella smiled as she skipped off to her room, shortly followed down the hall by Ari.

"That's too much like us as kids," Cristal said. "Pushing boundaries and all that. It's not a bad thing, but..."

"That haircut could have been worse," Emmett replied. "I've seen a lot worse."

"None of us doubt that," Emmeline told him. "It's more than clear, based on some of the things you've said about the looks of a few of the people on the board."

Cristal shrugged. "He's not wrong. A few of them have some pretty abysmal hair styles. One of them still has a perm."

"You got a…" Ozpin paused as he stepped into the room and then smiled. "Alright, good, you don't suddenly have a perm."

Cristal laughed as he embraced her and then shook up her curls. "Oz, I'd look like the albino version of my mother, and, believe me, the last person I want to look like is her."

"That's understandable," He said, then kissing her cheek. "You feeling better?"

Cristal sighed. "Than earlier? Yeah, I suppose."

Ozpin gave her a gentle squeeze. "It's going to be alright."

She bit her lip. "I hope so…"

* * *

"Dad," Spencer Ciel said as his father paced about his office at Atlas Academy. "There are things that the law isn't going to teach you. Like mom said –"

"Your mother…" Edward Ciel shook his head. "She was a genius, she really was –"

"And you command respect, you have for years," Spencer said. "But that's not what I meant, I meant that –"

"That what?" Edward asked him. "That love can be a double-edged sword?"

Spencer stared at him. "You're still in love with Victoria even after nearly ten years and full knowledge of what she's done."

Edward Ciel went silent.

"We all make our own mistakes," He eventually said. "And she is one of mine – one I can't let go of. Why do you think I don't want to be too involved with anything to do with Cinder? It's not just because she tried to kill Emmeline, although that's a major factor."

"I think most of the people in our family just have extraordinarily bad luck," Spencer said, rubbing his arm. "My semblance sets me apart in our family in that regard."

"Your semblance hasn't killed you through the…" Edward sighed. "You've been spared from death, directly, twice. You've survived in spite of that. In some ways, Spencer, you're stronger than the rest of us. You don't do what Emmeline does and keep everything close to your chest, you don't do what I do and try to ignore the mistakes you've made, and you certainly don't do what Ronnie does, what with his constant stream of being both emotionally repressed but continuing to take and take whatever it is that he wants. You have a lot to work through, you've been through some horrible things and continue to, but you keep living anyways. I don't say it enough, but I'm proud that you're my son, I really am."

A silence passed between father and son before the door opened.

"Edward?" Karissa said in slight surprise. "The senators are interrogating her today…a schedule change I only found out about an hour ago."

Edward shook his head. "That sounds about right, at least because of the upheaval that anything to do with her causes."

Karissa placed a hand to her husband's shoulder. "I take it the Vytal Festival has overtaken the day?"

Spencer laughed a bit. "That's more than accurate."

Karissa stared at him for a moment. "Spence, what is it?"

He hesitated, knowing she saw through him.

"I'm sorry," He said, embracing her tightly and surprising her for a second. "Nothing I've ever been has been fair to you, and –"

"That's not true –" She started.

"Spencer," Edward said, his voice surprisingly gentle. "You've managed to not only take care of four children, but you've been able to, as much as you can, help one of them through severe depression. You're not a bad father, you're fighting addiction harder than most people could before deciding – or having it decided for them – that death is better."

Spencer bit his lip. "That doesn't mean that things are as…well…as simple as we wish they were…"

"Nothing is," Karissa sighed heavily. "I know that the last few weeks have been difficult for us and our family, but it's going to be alright. It has been, hasn't it?"

Spencer paused, considering that as he held her close to him.

" _You know," Spencer had said as Karissa brushed through her still damp azure curls. "Seeing Ari and Ella made me wonder what it would be like if we had a baby. I know they're not quite babies, and I know that things aren't perfect right now, but they're never going to be…I…"_

" _Spencer –" Karissa had started, turning away from the mirror and towards her husband of two years._

" _I'd just…" He had run his fingers through his shaggy dark hair. "If it ever happened, I'd love for us to have a baby."_

 _Karissa had stared at him for a moment before tightly embracing him._

" _I'm so glad you feel that way," She had murmured as he rubbed her back in concern. "I really am."_

 _Spencer had raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you wanted kids that much," He had said, then playfully mussing her hair. "But that's good to know."_

 _She had sighed as she stepped into their bedroom._

" _I know that…especially with the new therapy sessions –"_

"' _Rissa, believe me, I'm glad you and I are doing that together," He had bit his lip as she stepped over the window and all but attempted to strangle the sill. "It's been hard, but –"_

" _I know, and, whenever I think about it, I'm…" She had trailed off, swallowing hard. "After that overdose last –"_

" _I know…" Spencer had fought back tears and instead came over to her and wrapped his arms around her in an attempt to provide some form of comfort. "It really is a miracle that I'm still alive when…when so many in my position have died. 'Rissa…if we want me to be sure I live, then we can wait to try and have a child."_

 _Karissa had shaken her head. "No, Spencer, I don't wait to wait…especially because…"_

 _Spencer pressed a hand to her cheek. "'Rissa, hon, are you saying you're pregnant?"_

 _She had nodded. "Not that it's going to change anything with my job, or –"_

 _Spencer had kissed her gently. "How long have you known?"_

" _A few weeks," She had admitted. "I…I didn't quite know how to tell you –"_

"' _Rissa…" Spencer had whispered. "I love you, and I would have been thrilled no matter when you told me. I promise, I'm not going to stand still and let myself die. All six of us are going to be okay…at least…I hope so. I'm not like Ronnie who can just take and take and keep winning despite that…but, goddamnit, I'm willing to wait for anything so long as I'm still alive and my family – my_ four _kids and my wife – are okay…"_

 _Karissa had smiled. "Spence…"_

" _Really, 'Rissa," He had said, holding her as close to him as possible. "I love you."_

"Spencer?" Edward eyed his son curiously. "Are you alright?"

He glanced at his scars from the injections for a moment before sighing heavily.

"I know I'm going to spend the rest of my life facing a relentless uphill climb," He said slowly. "But I'm going to survive – to hell with the fact that death just takes and takes. Maybe…maybe the fact that I'm alive…maybe that's enough."

Karissa placed a hand on his shoulder. "It is for me."

He kissed her cheek. "Then I'm not going to stand still or hesitate. If there's a reason we've managed to survive in spite of everything, then I'll do whatever it takes. If we're lucky, things will get better…even with whatever game this is that we're trying to beat."

"Salem," Edward surmised. "Sometimes I wonder if Ozpin even has a plan to defeat her."

"Chances are that he doesn't," Karissa said, sharing a knowing look with Spencer. "Especially with what he's tried to convince Natalie to do."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"He wants her to…" Spencer sighed. "He wants her to come to Beacon in March so that she can learn how to defend herself and also how to use her silver eyes."

Karissa squeezed his hand, and then shook her head. "Spence, she wants to do it."

He stared at her. "She does?"

Karissa pulled a note out of her back pocket and handed it to him. "I found this under my scroll this morning."

Spencer sighed as he read over his eldest daughter's all-too-familiar, messy handwriting – much in contrast to his own, his wife's, or his sons.

 _Karissa,_

 _I know Ozpin wants me to learn to use my silver eyes. I'm terrified of dying, I really am. So much as I've wanted to before, I also know I'm the one thing in life that I can control. Life and death don't discriminate between the sinners and the saints – they take, and they take, and they take._

 _If I'm marked for death, then I'm marked for death because we're still going to rise, fall, break, and make our mistakes. I'm going to fight back, I'm going to learn how. There's no point living in paralyzing fear, is there? When my mom died, she didn't leave instructions or anything but a legacy to protect. Yeah, almost everyone who loves me has died. But I am going to do what they weren't able to, I'm going to be the person my mom never got the chance to be._

 _I'm not falling behind or running late – I'm have something to prove, and I have nothing to lose. This is what I have to do. I have to fight back. I can't let anyone but us. There is a reason people like us thrive while so few survive a war like this, isn't there?_

"That's…" Spencer set the note down on his desk and then bit his lip. "If that's what she really wants…"

"I'm worried about her too," Karissa said. "But she deserves this chance."

Spencer wrapped his arms tightly around her. "I think we all do…"

* * *

"She offered you a deal?" Weiss stared at Blake, her eyes wide in surprise. "Good lord, Blake, I'm shocked you even have to think about that one. Take it! God, do you not want to be a free person? She's offering you total freedom and no jail time if you –"

"Tell her every damn thing I know, which would include incriminating other people that I know have changed," Blake said, her voice shaking in spite of herself. "Do you know how bad a position that places me in?"

"A bad position?" Weiss' voice went up an octave. "You've got to be kidding me. This is the best chance you're going to get at going free!"

"But I'm going to be betraying people that I care about, that have changed their lives from when they were in the White Fang!" Blake protested. "Kiara's entire career – the careers of all of the state, or province, or whatever the fuck you call them prosecutors – is based in sending as many people to jail as possible or getting as much information out of them as possible. How is that okay? How is compiling to that anywhere near moral?"

"Sometimes you have to make sacrifices," Weiss snapped. "Blake, you've done something completely horrible and morally objectionable. I hate that the system is going after you at all when it won't go after other people who have broken high order laws –"

"Weiss," Ruby said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I know that you –"

"This isn't even just about my aunt and uncle!" She exclaimed. "It's about people like Roman Torchwick –"

"Roman Torchwick isn't free right now," Yang reminded her. "He's still in prison, although they're probably going to give him early parole if he complies and tells the Council shit it wants to know."

Blake sighed. "It's not right."

"Who cares?" Weiss exclaimed in exasperation. "Do you _want_ to go to jail?"

"Of course not!" Blake buried her face in her hands. "But that's also asking me to hurt people I care about! You think I want to sell out people in Menagerie who will have no idea what hit them when I have to ask them to come to Atlas so the Council can arrest them following the issuing of subpoenas? Or, worse, if I can't bring myself to do that and the Council just sends special operatives to Menagerie so that they can just arrest a bunch of people right then and there?"

"Again," Weiss said in exasperation. "Do you _want_ to go to jail?"

"Weiss," Yang said, placing a hand on Blake's shoulder and affectionately squeezing it in an attempt to calm her fiancé. "This is hard enough a decision, do you really have to be the ice queen about it?"

Weiss scowled. "I am more than justified in everything that I am saying, I am being more than reasonable and logical –"

"You're acting like there are no negative consequences to the deal Kiara is offering her," Yang laughed dryly. "Believe me, pitting people against her is pretty low even if it means the Council gets information it wants and Blake gets to go free."

"Captioning my nightmare…" Blake muttered.

"Blake," Ruby said kindly. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"I…" Blake forced herself to look up and shared a look with her fiancé. "Yang, I don't want my past to continue to have unintended effects on you. Maybe…"

"Take it!" Weiss picked up her teammates scroll and tossed it to her. "Call Madame Davis right now and tell her you're taking it! This is going to save your ass, _take_ _it_!"

Blake's hand shook as she opened her scroll, and she hesitated as she stared at the number Kiara had given her.

"I…" She bit her lip. "I really am choosing myself over others…"

"Blake –" Yang started, feeling her fiancé's trepidation.

She sent her a resigned look and sent out the call, waiting for only a few moments before Kiara answered.

"I take it you have come to your decision?"

"Yes," Blake said, swallowing hard then forcing herself to speak. "I'll tell you and the Council anything you want and need to know if it means I can go free."

"That was the deal I proposed," Kiara said, her voice perfectly clipped and polished. "Tomorrow morning at eleven, my office, I'll have the papers drawn up for you to review and then sign to put the deal on the permanent record."

"Of course…" Blake said, pausing for a moment and then clicking the line dead.

"Blake?" Ruby said. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Blake stared at her but then shook her head.

"I…I really am no better than Torchwick…" She said, standing up quickly and leaving the room. "Who am I anymore?"

"Blake –" Yang started, running quickly after her fiancé.

But the door had already slammed behind her, and Blake was gone for outside – downtown, where she could run and run until her body was numb and sore and her mind was escaped from the hell she agreed to put herself in for the rest of her days, that hell being the hell of guilt.


	88. Chapter 88

_**November 21st  
**_ _ **City of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **5:38 PM**_

"Cut the transmission!" Port shouted, sharing a rather concerned look with Oobleck. "What are you waiting for? We can't –"

"We're cut!" The young man replied, his voice frantic as he managed to get the broadcast system shut off. "What the hell was that?"

"What the hell was that indeed," Elizabeth Morell remarked dryly as she stepped into the box and saw the severely injured student, Belinda Larson of Beacon Academy, being carried to the hospital wing on a stretcher by several medical professionals. "And who was her opponent?"

"A first year at Atlas Academy," Port informed her. "Named Nicole Vedette."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Vedette? Is there an association there with the head of the –"

"No," Oobleck said, scrolling through the girl's information on his scroll. "It actually looks more like she doesn't have any connections. She seems like a nobody from a small town further north in the kingdom."

Elizabeth sighed. "Can you play back that footage?"

Oobleck raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"When the chair of the Atlesian National Security Council asks you to do something, you do it," The young man who had been managing the broadcast system said, then shrinking back awkwardly upon Elizabeth scowling at him. "Sorry."

Oobleck pulled up the footage and then zoomed in on the critical moment.

"Is that what you were looking for?" He asked her, and Elizabeth eyed it critically for a moment. "Elizabeth?"

"That looks…" She trailed off for a moment in shock. "That student –"

"Belinda Larson –" Port interjected.

"Looks scarily similar to one of the Council's…most recent cooperating witnesses when it comes to matters involving Adam Taurus and the White Fang," Elizabeth said slowly. "She's –"

"Are you saying she looks like Blake Belladonna?" Port asked her, and she nodded. "I suppose there are a lot of similarities…yellow eyes, far taller than average, dark hair, cat faunus –"

"Go forward a bit, to…Vedette's aura appearing to break for a moment," Elizabeth said, and Oobleck did so. "Oh my god."

"Is that –"

"That's impossible!" Port exclaimed. "That can't be –"

"That has to be Nicole Ciel," Elizabeth said. "Someone find that student and –"

"On it," Port said, standing up and then running out of the room just as Blake Adel stepped in.

"What's going on?" He asked, unsure if he actually wanted to know the answer. "Elizabeth."

"Blake," She said shortly. "I see nothing about you has changed in the slightest."

"You as well," He replied. "Not that a few weeks allows for much change. You're still full of yourself and paranoid –"

"And you're still a dick to levels that I don't think any of us have ever seen before," Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Presumably the same thing you are," He said. "Trying to figure out what just happened –"

Elizabeth scowled at him and stormed out of the room although he quickly followed her.

"Elizabeth –" He started.

"If you're going to insist upon being –"

"Elizabeth –"

"Just because you're my brother in law –"

"This has nothing to do with the family –"

"Does it?"

"Elizabeth, this is a serious national security issue and has been for a long time," Blake said as they stepped out into one of the main areas in the arena. "And we have to handle it as such. Maybe we should close our borders again after the Vytal Festival, maybe even before –"

"Are you out of your mind?" She stared at him in complete exasperation. "We're not closing our borders again, that was bad enough after the Fall of Beacon –"

"Are you blind to the problems all of this is causing our kingdom?" He countered. "This –"

"This matter must be handled delicately!" She snapped. "If it's not, we'll end up pushing this kingdom further to the brink of war –"

"And this isn't?" Blake matched her tone almost perfectly. "Things like this aren't pushing our kingdom further to the brink of war –"

"Mishandling it will make that possibility all the more likely –"

"Elizabeth –"

"This is going to be terrible for foreign policy –" She exclaimed.

"You're out of your –" Blake started as he stepped towards her.

"I'm out of my mind?" She, without even thinking, went to slap him but he caught her wrist. "Let go of me!"

"Why is everything a fight to you?" He said, his words cutting but his tone gentle and with a hint of sympathy. "Lizzie, when is anything ever going to be enough for you. This isn't about policy, is it? There's something else, and I don't think it's –"

"If you say it –" She started, her eyes flaring.

"Not what your eyes are thinking," He said. "Are satisfied with anything yet? Your position, your power, your life?"

Tears rose in her eyes against her will, and she tried to bite back her emotions.

"Well?" Blake stared at her, then finally letting go of her wrist. "Lizzie?"

"What's going on?" Edward Ciel stepped in between the two of them, staring at both of them in shock. "The two of you are aware that there are cameras here, aren't you?"

Blake and Elizabeth paused, awkwardly glancing around.

"Later," She said, sending him a sharp look. "We will discuss this matter later."

Blake stared at her as she stalked off, her heels clicking angrily.

"What were you thinking?" Ciel questioned, dragging him off away from where they would be filmed. "And what did you say to her?"

"That she's treating everything like a fight because she's scared, because she's upset, because she's being pulled too many different ways, and she doesn't know what to do with her powers as the Summer Maiden," Blake said, and Ciel sighed. "What? All of that's valid –"

"Whether it is or isn't is not the issue," He told him. "It's the fact that you two let whatever tension exists between –"

"I am not in love with my sister in law –" Blake started.

"That's not what I meant," Ciel said, sending him a sharp look. "You should know that."

Blake shook his head. "I don't even know what we're doing anymore. This…whatever this was has nothing to do with the Festival. There's something else behind it."

"We'll determine that as soon as we know more," Ciel glanced at the arena where things had calmed down and the people were setting up for another fight. "There's going to be hell to pay."

"President Ciel," Glynda said, her hands tightly around a much smaller woman. "This student might interest you."

Ciel raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

The girl wrenched herself out of Glynda's grasp and then dissipated the illusion she had placed on herself.

"I'm not Nicole Vedette," She said, clenching her fists as her true appearance emerged. Pure dark hair, not her typically multicolored illusion, grey eyes that were almost blue – the same color as her father's as she stood in front of him for the first time in six years. "I'm your baby girl. Are you proud of me now? Have you ever missed me?"

Ciel stared at her, unsure of how to react. "Nicole –"

"I've taught myself how to speak, how to not let it pain me so much," She snapped. "Because I'm not erasing myself from the narrative, I'm not going to leave people to wonder whatever became of Nicole Eleanor Ciel! This family is fucked up enough! Ronnie and Brianna and the incessant lies upon which they sit as if they're a throne! Emmeline and Emmett and their power! Spencer and Karissa and their shrouded lives! The secrets you kept for Nicholas Schnee –"

"What?" Blake started, sharing a confused look with Glynda.

"And this was when you were a first term senator!" Nicole shouted, then shaking her head. "You helped him keep an affair quiet –"

"I have regretted that for decades now –" Ciel said.

"But everything you have ever done borders on senseless!" Neo sighed. "You're so obsessed with…with –"

"I've made more than a few mistakes –"

"But you're only a part of this family," Neo brushed away tears. "I spoke to mom shortly before she died, you know. She said that she hoped you were happy with what happened, with accepting the 'fact' that I was dead. She said that you always said that was the case when it wasn't. She said that you slept in your office most of the time because you closed off. You buried yourself in your work, you buried yourself in the power that you were given. But you were never able to reconcile your thoughts. You can't now, can you?"

Ciel was silent, and no one spoke until another stepped into the area but paused in shock.

"Oh my god," Ronnie said, staring at his sister. "You?"

"And you," Neo said, her voice shaking. "You and your impulsiveness, your temper, your arrogance, your lies, all of the things you claim to be, the things you've silenced, the abuses of power you've wielded, the –"

"Nicole –" Ronnie started, trying to calm himself as he adjusted his glasses.

"I hope that you burn," She whispered. "But no more than Blake Belladonna, no more than the people who have hurt and damned me. This world is nothing that you think it is or will ever be…it's darker, it's colder, and it's deadlier. This world is…well…"

She stepped out into the light, pulling stacks of papers out of her purse and stepping out onto the still empty arena where the preparations for the next fight were going on.

"You all know who I am!" She shrieked, tears rising in her eyes and her voice shaking. "I'm a Ciel just as much as your president, the head of the state department, as one of this kingdom's generals, as much as one of the history professors at this Academy!"

The murmurs over the Amity Coliseum ceased and she shoved the papers under her arm before pulling out her scroll and manipulating the system through a bug that Watts had placed in it years prior so that she could manage almost all Atlas technologies. The stage rose all the way up, and artificial wind rose from below it.

"These," She screamed, holding up the papers. "Are packets of the things my family has done over the years – good and bad! Letters, lists of facts, all of it! The truth is that my family, our words are paranoid, our legacy is stained by suspicion because of our power, but I am going to clear our name even if it ruins our lives!"

And, with that, she let the hundreds of packets fly through the Coliseum with tears falling heavily down her face before she disappeared.

* * *

"I don't even know what to say about it," Spencer said, sending Ozpin, James, and Isabella Cyan of Haven Academy a sharp look. "But this matter needs to be dealt with carefully."

"That's not really an option we have," Karissa told him, and he looked to her in surprise. "Elizabeth and Blake came to blows publicly over policy in public an hour ago."

James shook his head. "Of course they did."

"What made it worse was that President Ciel had to stop them," Karissa said, and Spencer sighed. "But the two of them shouting at each other over what the attack was and what it means for policy is bad enough."

"It wasn't just policy," James reminded them. "It was –"

"Spencer –" Ronnie started, running into the room with a rather thick packet in his hands although he paused upon seeing the others. "Karissa, Ozpin, you can stay. Everyone else, please, get out."

"I beg your pardon?" Cyan scowled at him. "You cannot just come in here and demand –"

"This is a family matter," Ronnie said, sighing heavily upon Brianna, Emmeline, Emmett, and Cristal stepping into the room as well. "As you can tell."

"What's this?" Brianna took the packet from him and her eyes went wide. "No…"

"We can discuss this matter later," Spencer said, and Cyan haughtily left, followed quickly by James.

"What happened?" Karissa asked, sharing a concerned look with Spencer. "Ronnie –"

"It was Nicole…" He said quietly. "She was that…that student. She was…she just…"

"Told gave the world a glimpse into what the Ciel family has done…" Cristal said, looking at the news as it broke on her scroll. "She…she told the world the –"

"This," Ronnie said, gesturing to the packet Brianna was looking through frantically. "Brie –"

"How could you?" She shrieked, slapping him with the packet before slamming it down on Spencer's desk. "I know you did some horrible things to keep us protected in the face of scandal, but you slept with Kiara Davis to convince her to wipe information you couldn't access from her own systems and to deny that the records and indictments involving me ever existed? How could you do this? It's all here, how you brought her into our bed while I was away – and this…this was when our son was a baby? You cared so damn much about preserving us that you –"

"You've torn everything apart!" She swallowed hard. "No, you've forfeited the right to my heart, to our bed –"

"I've hated myself ever since…" He said, his voice breaking in genuine upset. "I love you, Brianna –"

"I don't care…" She said, shaking her head. "I thought you were mine –"

"I –" He started.

"I don't want to divorce," She said bluntly. "But you're not sleeping with me, you can sleep in your office instead with the…the thoughts and photographs of when you were mine…I don't care what…what…"

"Brianna –" Ronnie said, stepping to embrace her but instead getting slapped.

"Our…" Her voice broke as her eyes swelled with tears. "How would you feel if I told you that…that…"

"What is it?" He asked her, wishing he could have done anything but what he had. "Is it our son? How this –"

"It's not just about him anymore…" She said, tears starting to fall. "I thought today was going to be a happy one for us, but it's not…it's just not…"

"Brie –" Cristal said, looking at her in concern.

"Both of them are going to have to face the scandals that are going to overtake our family…" Brianna said, tears falling. "I thought that things were finally safe, that this world was getting better even if she wasn't defeated…I thought that you cared about more than doing whatever it takes for us to survive…"

Ronnie stared at her. "Both of them?"

"You're such a damned genius," She said, freezing his glasses with her semblance. "Figure it out."

A heavy silence hung over them as she left the room – only broken by Ronnie, tears streaming down his face with no attempt to be strong behind his eyes, running after her.

"This is us…" Emmeline said, looking at the information in the packet. "Desperate, pretending to be happy, hiding behind our power and name…"

"No one's going to believe the majority of it," Karissa said, wrapping an arm tightly around Spencer who pulled her as close to him as possible. "Other than what's corroborated by common knowledge. No one's going to believe that Ronnie and Brianna ever broke the law or that we protected them, but they're going to believe that he cheated on her. Kiara will never admit it if she did what this claims…but she'll never be able to escape being the –"

"Scarlet letter of the Ciel family," Cristal remarked dryly. "Or, at the very least, something very damn close to that."

"The things about Edward protecting our dad is going to be explosive," Emmett said, and Emmeline sighed heavily. "I can't believe that's true…"

"I can," Cristal said, a tinge of sadness in her voice. "I can, because he admitted that he and mommy's relationship was all but over ten years after we were born."

Emmeline shook her head. "We're awful people…we really are…"

"No, that's not fair," Karissa said. "We've just done things that we should more than regret…"

"How exactly did we get into this mess?" Spencer looked to her, anxiety and upset clear in his eyes. "Are we ever going to be able to recover from this?"

"It's…" Ozpin sighed. "We've brought this on ourselves, haven't we?"

"Some of us more so than others," Emmeline said darkly. "Ronnie and Brianna's names show up on this list just a little less than my father's. She didn't just list the…the scandals we've caused but…she wrote down our accomplishments too."

"Really?" Emmett said, raising an eyebrow. "Like what?"

Emmeline hesitated but went through the packet nonetheless.

"She started with our sins," She said, pulling through three of the ten pages before reaching a different section. "But she spent more time on what we've done right…like victories attributed to Karissa and I in the war against terror…the law Ronnie got passed as a senator that broadened the protections of our constitutional rights to free speech, expression and press to permanent residents and not just natural-born citizens…Ozpin's attempts to better things beyond the academies…Emmett and Cristal's release of internal papers to show the world the truth about what Jacques had done to the company…Spencer's activism for the restriction of addictive painkillers because of…"

"Because of what they've done to me…" He said softly.

"But you've still been able to live, you've been able to take care of your children, you and I have been able to have a life together," Karissa said, looking at him with nothing but love. "And you're closer to –"

He pressed a soft kiss to her lips before she could finish.

"I wouldn't still be here without you, 'Rissa…" He whispered, holding her close. "And I love you so damn much, for everything."

"I love you too…" She said, resting her head on his chest. "And it's going to be alright."

"Cristal," Emmeline said a bit hesitantly, seeing the woman's anxiety as she curled into Ozpin so much as she could standing up. "Are you alright?"

She paled the little bit she could before shaking her head.

"She's cleared all of names…" She eventually got out. "But in that she's set things to ruin our lives."

"Chrissy…" Ozpin said gently, rubbing her back. "The dust will settle and people will forget about it, it's not going to ruin our lives."

"This redeems her but damns all of us!" Cristal exclaimed. "What are we…what have we done? What if this is proving Her right? What if…what if we deserve to burn?"

And as the world shattered in so many different ways, the worst had yet to come – so proven as the Queen sat in her throne room with a perfect smirk on her face as she observed everything through her seer, her manipulative mirror.


	89. Chapter 89

_**November 22nd  
**_ _ **Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council  
**_ _ **Atlesian Senate  
**_ _ **City of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **Security Level: High  
**_ _ **Necessary Security Clearance: High  
**_ _ **9:17 PM**_

"I'm a bit surprised you still wanted to see me," Cinder said, her voice falsely sweet as she sat down before the Atlesian senate, the head of the DCCCP, the head of the DFAMA, and the chair of the Atlesian National Security Council in closed session. "With all of the…shoes that dropped yesterday."

"You've been charged with contempt of court before," Kiara said tersely, still unsure of how she felt after her talk with Dr. Ciel several hours before. "Acting like this does nothing to increase your chances of having a hint of favor in our system."

Cinder laughed girlishly, leaning forward in the dress they had permitted her to wear for the hearing. It was long, trailing the floor, and one sleeve covered her severely damaged arm while on the other she wore an elbow length black glove. In many ways, the luxury of the clothing she was allowed for hearings was one of the reasons she had chosen to cooperate in the last few years – albeit coyly enough not to end up out of Salem's favor.

"I do hear quite a bit of gossip from my guards, you know," She said, examining her gloved hand on which the aura cuff she was forced to wear was a constant irritation. "I'm shocked you can even sit in the same room as Karissa Mar without her wanting to strangle you. Didn't you sleep with her brother in law shortly after his son was born? You are –"

"Allegations against me have no bearing upon what you are here for," Kiara said, sending her a sharp and almost threatening look. "So, please, do not use whatever…gossip you hear to filibuster this hearing."

"If she'd stop equivocating all the damn time about the concerns over your abuses of power, then we'd all rest easy," Elizabeth muttered under her breath, primarily to Karissa. "This whole thing is true, and we all know that. If it wasn't, she wouldn't have 'apologized' to Brie."

Cinder raised an eyebrow, having heard her amongst the noise. "It seems, for once, that you and I agree on something, Madame Morell."

Elizabeth flinched at the notion and looked down at the rather large case file in her hands.

"It's…quite interesting to see how my kingdom has not changed and is only being revealed," Cinder sighed as she leaned forward a bit, clasping her weak and strong hands together before her. "The president's youngest child snapping and revealing things to the world that we had only imagined. Short love affair notes from prosecutor Davis to secretary Ciel, the accomplishments of her family and mine albeit, forgive the pun, marred by their transgressions. A ten-page pamphlet…yet it means so much more. Serious allegations are in there, which are being looked at by this Council now –"

"You've been brought before this senate and three of this Council's top officials to provide information, not to reiterate gossip which broke yesterday," A young senator said, sending the amber-eyed woman a sharp look. "If you could be so kind, please stop your equivocation and red herrings."

"Such strong words…" Cinder mused. "I suppose you can see through my charms."

"You've more than proven to have a silver tongue," Elizabeth said, her voice remarkably steady even as she clenched her fists under the desk. "We are more than well aware of that fact and can react and plan for it accordingly."

"Thank you, Madame Morell," Senator Morghan said, giving her a curt nod before he turned to the former Schnee and went on. "Adam Taurus."

"Is that all?" Cinder raised an eyebrow. "Well, that name does ring a bell…or, perhaps, a couple hundred. If I recall, he's the current leader of the…terrorist organization known as the White Fang. He murdered the previous leader for that position, and he, as far as I know, has had plans for years to kill Ghira and Kali Belladonna to become the high leader of not only the White Fang but of Menagerie. He's a…ruthless dictator, to say the least."

A silence passed in surprise.

"A bit…peculiar that you would give information like this up so freely," Karissa said, suspicion clear in her tone. "We are well aware of those plans, as we've kept close tabs on Taurus for years, but we have never been able to corroborate them beyond being plots."

"They're set to be more than that," Cinder said darkly. "Believe me when I say that it is more than a plot."

"You say his primary targets are going to be Ghira and Kali Belladonna," Senator Carrington eyed the amber eyed woman with a sharp gaze that she refused to waver even under the glare the former Schnee sent her. "Do you have any idea when? Or how?"

Cinder smirked. "Oh, you're going to have to give me more reason to give that information up."

"I beg your pardon?" Carrington replied, feeling a bit miffed at being spoken to as such. "You are in no position to negotiate with this senate. In fact, you ought to be thanking us, although more specifically prosecutor Davis, for the fact that you're still alive when the judge ordered that you be slated for execution."

All humor left Cinder's face, replaced distinctly by pure fear.

"Such arrogance," She said, shaking her head. "Why is it that all of the people we place in power in this kingdom are arrogant to the nth degree?"

"Answer the question," Senator Soleil said. "This matter is of great –"

"Well…" Cinder said, tapping her gloved fingers. "If I'm not mistaken, Taurus should be working on it…well, now."

Murmurs on the subject quickly escalated into much louder discussion amongst the senators while Morell, Mar, and Davis were silent and sat awkwardly beside each other.

"How could you possibly know such a thing?" Elizabeth finally said, feeling sick as her abuser turned to her and smiled. "You have spent the last several years in solitary confinement with your only connections to the outside world being your guards –"

"One of which…well, let's just say that he knows me," Cinder smirked once more, and Elizabeth recoiled a bit in spite of herself. "Oh, are you still scared of me, Elizabeth?"

She twitched a bit, looking away as the sickening feeling only grew.

"Your eyes betray you," Cinder told her. "I know what you're hiding behind them, what power so few know you have."

"Eliza?" Karissa said after a moment. "Are you sure that you're alright?"

"The maiden of summer…" Cinder remarked.

Elizabeth turned to senator Morghan, the senate majority leader. "Permission to leave prematurely?"

"Permission granted," Morghan said, sending her a sympathetic look as Elizabeth stood up and left faster than any of them ever could have imagined. Once the doors slammed behind her, Morghan gestured to Kiara. "Prosecutor Davis, you have the floor."

Kiara nodded curtly. "Who exactly are you speaking of when you refer to one of your guards as your informant?"

"Tyrion Callows," Cinder said, then laughing as she stood up and two of the guards in the room pointed their guns at her. "Oh, that's going to be of no use. You see –"

Cinder attempted to rip off her aura cuff, expecting it to come clean off as Watts had insinuated would be possible to Tyrion just a few days prior.

"What the fuck?" She exclaimed, a bit of anxiety rising in her. "How is –"

Cinder attempted to activate her powers as the Fall Maiden but found herself unable.

"Tyrion Callows is freeing Arthur Watts right now!" She shrieked in anger. "And you'll realize I'm right when you get there too damn late! I'm right about Taurus, I'm right about this –"

"Take her away," Kiara said, ignoring the looks that the senators and Karissa were sending her. "That's an order."

The guards quickly grabbed Cinder and dragged her out of the room. In the minutes following, the senators began to clear out – eventually leaving only Kiara and Karissa.

"How could you do what you did? How can you deny it when we all know it's true?" Karissa asked her as soon as the doors slammed behind the last senator. "I know that the, as it's being referred to, 'Ciel Pamphlet' is not the most reliable source –"

"Ironically, there are quite a few things in there that _you_ have denied," Kiara shook her head. "I've not denied the affair aspect, but I have denied the notion that Ronnie and Brianna ever broke the law or that I had demands to protect them if they had. You have done the same thing. We're both preserving our careers, we're both preserving our legacies. How is what I'm doing any different from what you are?"

"Because the core of what you did is more morally objectionable," Karissa said, crossing her arms. "Unlike the rest of us, who only kept quiet on the little we knew –"

"Elizabeth is stated as having known quite a bit," Kiara reminded her. "The thing is, Karissa _Ciel_ , that we all know, those of us named in the pamphlet, that the things she wrote about us are true. There was much more positive than negative, but the negative things she mentioned are serious scandals."

"How can you live with yourself?" Karissa exclaimed, refusing to let herself be distracted. "If it's true that you backed Ronnie into a corner to –"

"In case you're unaware, which I would be shocked if you are since you have a child, sex takes more than one person," Kiara sighed. "In hindsight, it was not the best thing to do, but at the time it seemed like it would get us both what we wanted. I would get to have sex with him, and his name and his wife's would be more than clean. The DOJ is already looking into the allegations of malpractice, and they're going to find nothing to sustain those allegations because the evidence that could damn _your_ family or me does not exist anymore. It is completely destroyed. The only thing that people know for certain, in the damning allegations, that happened is that Ronnie and I had a two-month affair shortly after his son was born."

"You broke Brie's heart, you know," Karissa said, and Kiara flinched. "She's –"

"I know," Kiara said, thinking of the afternoon. "It's more than clear…"

" _I don't…" Brianna scowled at the banana in her hand before pulling down her protective glasses and dropping the fruit into the liquid nitrogen – pulling it out only a few seconds later with tongs. "No, you should know the truth. If it weren't for what you did, yesterday would have been a happy one for –"_

" _It's just an addition to an already muddled –" Kiara started._

 _Brianna cut her off my smashing the banana with a hammer. "After three years of infertility, Ronnie and I were finally able to have another child –"_

" _Brianna, I'm sorry –"_

" _You backed him into a corner!" She snapped. "You could have asked him to for anything and he would have done it to protect me! Why couldn't you have asked for half a million lien? That would have plunged us damn near poverty, but it wouldn't have –"_

" _Because I'm a flawed human being!" Kiara snapped back. "Because I let that power and lust get to my head!"_

" _Do you have any idea how any of the timing makes me feel?" Brianna asked her. "Any of it? With me being pregnant again, with finding out that this affair happened shortly after I had my son and felt tired, spread thin, and –"_

" _I don't," Kiara admitted. "But I'm sorry."_

 _Brianna considered that, but then shook her head. "No, you're not…I can see it in your face…behind your eyes…"_

* * *

"Blake," Caitlin said, motioning the other woman into her office. "Please, sit down, we have several things to discuss."

"How can you pretend as if nothing has happened?" She asked her. "Like the events of – literally – yesterday didn't happen?"

Caitlin flinched. "Blake…"

"Everything that's happened in the last twenty-four hours has been a shit show," Blake said bluntly, feeling almost resigned. "And, yet, here we are with you –"

"Blake, I'm just trying to process like everyone else," She said, sighing heavily. "Believe me, this isn't easy –"

"Because everything that was put out there is true?" She replied. "Because you know that, for once, Nicole Ciel wasn't lying?"

Caitlin hesitated. "I'm not going to let on how much I know of it to be true."

"Of course you won't," Blake said. "Because, like your family, you're paranoid, obsessed with your legacy, and obsessed with surviving. In that way, you're –"

"I'm not going to be lectured by you," Caitlin snapped, then pausing upon realizing how harsh that sounded. "Because, if you weren't in the same position on that matter, you wouldn't be cooperating with the Council."

Blake bit her lip. "Caity, you and I both know this meeting is a front."

She sighed. "I know."

"Please, just…" Blake glanced at her hands for a moment before looking back to her. "Just tell me what you know."

Caitlin pulled out a rather large file and flipped through it for about a minute before removing only a few pages.

"These are sensitive records that pertain to who the Council, specifically Madame Davis' department, is after in conjunction to you," Caitlin pushed the papers towards her. "Adam is the most obvious one and the only name I recognized, but there are others. Ilia Amitola, for one, and a rather long list of names that I'm not going to even try and cover. The DCCCP has about…twenty different people they want to go after, and they need you to corroborate what they know about them. Hence why Madame Davis was so lenient with your demands for giving up information."

Blake paled. "She wants to lock up all of these people…most of them are innocent!"

"As innocent as you?" Caitlin countered, and Blake went silent. "Blake, they have good reason even if I don't agree that this is the best way to handle such a situation. Adam Taurus is the one that concerns me the most –"

"Caity?" Cas paused as she opened the door. "I didn't realize you had a meeting, sorry –"

"No, we just finished," Caitlin said, sending Blake a sharp look as she showed her the copies of the documents that she slipped back into the file – allowing the other woman to slip the papers out with her. "Blake, you and I can speak more later."

"Of course." She said, quickly leaving the room as Caitlin put away the file.

Cas raised an eyebrow as she watched Blake leave.

"What was that all about?" She finally asked. "Caity?"

"Something I can't discuss with you," She told her, and Cas shook her head as she embraced her tightly. "Cassie –"

"I know that things are difficult right now –" Cas started gently.

"Yesterday only made it worse…" Caitlin muttered. "And I can't imagine it getting much better from here…"

"I don't even know what to say about it," Cas said, biting at her lip. "It's tearing this family apart –"

"If you're referring to what happened yesterday, you're right," Elizabeth hesitated as she stepped into the room. "It's more than just bad, to say the very least."

"Are you alright, mommy?" Caitlin looked at her mother in concern. "You look upset."

"I don't want to talk about it," Elizabeth said, sending her a pointed look that, thankfully, her daughter fully understood. "Later, okay?"

Caitlin nodded. "I just…I can't help but wonder how we ended up in such a mess in the first place."

"Small mistakes," Elizabeth said dryly. "Not that they're being taken as small anymore."

"We really are paranoid, aren't we?" Cas said, and both Caitlin and Elizabeth went silent. "At the very least, we're acting like it, aren't we?"

Caitlin and Elizabeth shared a look.

"That may very well be true," Caitlin said softly. "But this isn't the worst of it…there's going to be more to come, even if we don't know it yet…"

* * *

Brianna Ciel sighed heavily as she stepped into the townhouse, trying not to think of the events of the previous day. "Ryan?" She called out. "Are you okay?"

Her seven-year-old son came running down the stairs and embraced her tightly. "Mommy!" He exclaimed happily.

"Hi, honey," She said, forcing herself to smile as she picked him up and carried him up the stairs. "Is…is your father home?"

Ryan nodded. "He's in your room."

Brianna fought back tears. "Do you need anything, Ryan?"

He shook his head as she set him down. "I'm okay."

"Alright," Brianna said, pausing for a moment as she watched her son curl up on the floor with crayons and a sketchpad. "Enjoy yourself…" She whispered.

Swallowing hard, she stepped up the stairs to the third floor. That morning, she had not wanted to get out of bed. She had stared at the ceiling, alone in the bed, feeling sick. She had pressed her cold hand to her forehead, trying to convince herself that her life had not been destroyed. There was nothing about her that had felt alright; her body felt heavy and she had found her throat dry. A part of her had wanted to die, a part of her had wanted to lie there forever. Finally, after half an hour, she forced herself to get up. An hour later, she had stepped out to her car in her lab coat with her son – taking him to school before driving herself to work. In all, the day had been absolutely terrible and in no way had it gotten better with each passing hour. Kiara Davis had come into her laboratory to apologize in the afternoon. To no surprise, the encounter had been rather upsetting.

It had been so much so that she had ripped a banana out of her lunch and dropped it in the liquid nitrogen before pulling it out and smashing it with a hammer as she spoke. The feeling of destroying something had brought her only temporary release, and self-hatred rose when she realized that there was a part of her that had wished, in that moment, that the banana had been Kiara. The moment encapsulated the fact that there was nothing that felt right, even vaguely, for the past twenty-four hours. The feeling remained as she opened the door to the bedroom and saw Ronnie pacing, though he stopped upon seeing her. The two of them stared at each other for a long moment in silence. Her thoughts were racing; part of her wanted to embrace him tightly and let them make amends but she could not help but remember how it had felt to have her world fall apart.

"Ronnie," She said, her voice breaking. "How are you?"

"Terrible," He said, running a hand through his thick, dark curls. "I'll…I'll leave you alone."

She brushed tears away from her eyes. "Ronnie –"

"Brie," He said, pausing for a moment and then hesitantly stepping towards her. "Am I allowed to touch you?"

She hesitated, and then took his hand. "Please don't tell me you haven't figured out what I meant…what I meant yesterday when I said it's not just about…about –"

"You're pregnant again," Ronnie said gently, and she nodded. "Brianna –"

"I don't hate you…" She whispered. "And it's not just because of…because of Ryan, or because of the baby…"

"I really have hated myself ever since," He said, wanting to brush away her tears but feeling that he had lost that right. "I shouldn't have done what I did, I shouldn't have let Kiara drag me into what she did –"

"She shouldn't have tried to…" Brianna, despite all of the tumultuous emotions that were running through her, kissed his cheek. "I…I don't even know what to do…"

"What do you want me to do?" He asked her, letting her hand go. "I love you, Brie, and I've never loved anyone else."

"I believe that," She said through tears. "But that doesn't mean you have any less of a temper, that doesn't make you any less impulsive –"

"I know," Ronnie said, starting to cry himself. "I –"

"If you want to show me that you genuinely love me, then…" Brianna shook her head. "Take time off work –"

"For how long?" He asked her. "A month?"

She shook her head. "The next three, starting tomorrow."

Ronnie hesitated, but nonetheless pulled out his scroll and began to compose his notice for an extended leave of absence.

"I take it you're doing the same?" He said a bit hesitantly. "Brie?"

She nodded weakly. "I put it in this afternoon…after committing a brutal act of violence against a fruit in my lab."

"Liquid nitrogen and a hammer?" Ronnie asked, and she fought back the urge to laugh. "I'm so sorry –"

"There's…" Brianna bit her lip as she sat down on their bed. "There's two other things…"

Ronnie hesitated before he sat down next to her. "What is it, Brianna?"

"I want us to…to remove sex from our relationship for a few months while we figure…while we figure all of this out," She turned to him and then let him place a hand on her knee. "Ronnie, don't make this harder –"

"Make what harder?" Ronnie felt a bit sick in spite of himself. "Brianna, sweetheart –"

She hesitated but then slipped off her wedding ring and placed it in his hand.

"Remarry me," She whispered. "Right now, Ronnie."

He stood up quickly and then, fidgeting with her ring in his hands, he knelt down and took her hands in his.

"I don't have a right to your heart anymore," Ronnie said, his glasses fogging from the tears. "I haven't for a long time, and I deserve you to hate me because of it…but if you…if you still want me, I want you more than anything. I adore you, I _love_ you, and I want to marry you again. I want us, our son, our unborn child…I want all of us to be okay. If…if you're willing, I want to marry you again. Right here, right now."

She stared at him for a moment, tears streaming down her face. "Yes, Ronnie…"

He slipped the ring onto her finger and then let his head fall into her lap. "I love you…"

"I…" Brianna's voice broke as she pulled him up onto their bed. "I love you too…"

He hesitated but then tightly embraced her.

"Is…" Ronnie bit his lip as he let her go. "Is the baby alright?"

Brianna nodded. "Yes, the baby is fine."

Ronnie sighed heavily. "That's good to know."

"You still…you still broke my heart yesterday…" Brianna said softly. "But I can't…I still love you…and…and if we're really going to try to work this out –"

"I'll do anything," Ronnie swore. "I really will."

Brianna considered that.

"We'll figure this out in the morning," She said, laying back on their bed and running her hands through her hair. "I don't want to think too much, I don't want to…I know this was seven years ago, but it still…it still hurts to know…"

Ronnie laid down next to her. "I'm so sorry…"

"Just…" Brianna turned slightly to face him. "Hold me…"

Ronnie hesitated but nonetheless wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her close in his arms.

"Is there anything else you want me to do?" He murmured, feeling guilty but still keeping her near. "I'll do anything, honey, I really will."

"I believe you…" She whispered. "Because I can feel just how fast your heart is beating right now…"

He pulled off his glasses and set them aside before rubbing her back. "Brie…"

"We're going to take things slow," She said, curling into her husband. "I don't want things to be like this…"

"I should have never done what I did," He said, continuing to rub her back. "And I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make up for it. I love you, and I will never forgive myself for what happened…I just hope that you and I will manage to make things right with time…"


	90. Chapter 90

_**November 25th  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **8:17 PM**_

"Emmett, honestly, I'm just glad that the Vytal Festival is almost over," Emmeline said tiredly. "With everything that's happened, it seems like the kingdom is spiraling out of control."

"I agree," He sat down next to her on the edge of their bed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "But it's going to be alright. It's not as if it's a permanent –"

"Everything she put out there is true!" Emmeline reminded him. "To the public, they're finding out that we have an unprecedented amount of power that we've abused –"

"No one can prove half the things in there –"

"The things about Ronnie?" Emmeline shook her head. "Not only can I not believe him, but even if it can't be proven that he, Kiara, and Brianna ever broke the law, it is more than proven, because of the letters that Nicole _somehow_ found, that Ronnie had a…torrid affair with Kiara –"

"It didn't seem like he was too excited by it in those notes, since he provided his responses yesterday," Emmett sighed. "It's horrible what he did, and it wasn't justified, but she –"

"She was much more into it than he was, yes," Emmeline paused for a moment. "Still, the pain it's causing Brianna is anything but fair, and he should never have agreed to it."

"And Kiara should never have pushed a vulnerable person into a terrible position for her own gain," Emmett said. "They're both at fault."

"No kidding," Emmeline muttered, probing her forehead. "This is just making things worse, it's setting a terrible tone over the end of the Vytal Festival…although, that hearing where Cinder tried to make an escape the other day was bad enough. This kingdom is being pushed to the brink, it's being torn apart –"

"I know," Emmett said, running his fingers through his hair. "But I don't think any of us know what to do about it."

"Of course we don't know what to do about it!" Emmeline sighed. "In the last few days, my family has gone from being scrutinized for being a 'dynasty' to having that notion confirmed. Of course, the Ciel family is a dynasty! We're not wealthy in the sense that a lot of people would want to be, but that doesn't negate the fact that we've had a hand in politics for decades!"

"My family has had a lot of power because of Dust for decades," Emmett bit his lip. "Although I know that's not the same thing."

"Your family's got problems, but they're different from mine…" Emmeline hesitated as she looked up. "What am I saying, they're intertwined…"

"But it's going to be alright," Emmett said as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "I know that it looks bad, I know that for a lot of reasons it is bad, but we're not in trouble ourselves. You and I haven't done anything wrong. To be honest, the only –"

"But we knew," Emmeline shook her head. "The fact that we knew about some of this means that we're –"

"…Oh, shut up!" Cristal snapped down the hall. "…You care that damn much about your image? You want me to say it never happened? You want me to lie for you, Ronnie? Go and fuck yourself, I'm not going to –"

"…This is bad enough as it is!" He snapped back. "…Brie's upset enough, and us hearing about this everyday –"

"…Neither of you are going to work for the next three months!" Cristal replied. "…How stupid are you? If you acknowledge the rumors further, you're only going to give them more fuel –"

"…But –"

"Ronnie, calm down," Emmeline said, crossing her arms as she stepped into the room with Emmett. "If you think that acting would help, then you're not only wrong but completely _stupid_!"

He stared at her for a moment but then sighed heavily, brushing tears away from his eyes behind his glasses.

"I'm disgusted with what I did, I have been for a long time…" Ronnie eventually said. "I'm shocked Brie even wants us to try and make things work…what I did was unforgivable –"

"Because she loves you," Emmett said, sending him a sharp look. "Which, honestly, makes you even more of a dick for cheating on her."

"I know," Ronnie said, looking away. "And I don't even know what to do now, other than what I already am."

"Just keep doing that!" Cristal exclaimed in exasperation. "Ronnie, I know that Brie –"

"You know that I what?" Brianna asked as she came into the room from the stairs to below. "Ronnie, what did you do –"

"Brie, can we…" Ronnie trailed off and then motioned her to follow him into the drawing room. "Alone?"

She sighed. "You made me come all the way here anyways…"

Cristal raised an eyebrow, though she was silent until the door had closed behind them.

"If they move in here…" She laughed dryly. "We'd be even more of a shit show than we already are."

Emmeline rolled her eyes. "I think you might be understating that."

"Am I?" Cristal shrugged as she adjusted her glasses. "I'm not even quite sure how to describe some of the things we've been dealing with. At this point…"

"We're just waiting for the next revelation?" Emmett questioned. "Because that would probably mean talking to mom –"

"It would mean talking to Cinder," Emmeline said darkly. "According to Karissa, she revealed knowledge of several plots and…made clear that some of the things we'd hoped to not be true are. Not without attempting to make a grand escape, but…"

Cristal paled. "Such as…"

"Some of Adam Taurus' plans to take power," Emmeline informed her. "It's not good, to say the very least."

"No kidding," Emmett said dryly. "After all, she's always been a bit of a mess."

"A bit of a mess?" Cristal stared at him incredulously. "When I was sixteen, daddy cut off her credit cards and, in retaliation, she kept shoving fancy lingerie in my bags –"

"I remember that," Emmett said with a faint smirk. "It was pretty funny when you opened your purse and a skimpy bra fell out."

"It was not funny!" Cristal exclaimed. "It was horrible!"

"What was horrible, mommy?" Courtney asked as she stepped into the room. "Is Emmett doing something stupid?"

"No," Cristal said a bit tiredly. "I'll tell you later…and it's a good reason for to be happy you don't have siblings."

"You okay, Chrissy?" Ozpin looked at her in concern and then wrapped an arm around her waist affectionately. "Chrissy?"

She smiled. "I'm fine, just reliving some of the…more absurd moments of my life."

"That doesn't quite cut it," Emmeline said, restraining herself from laughing. "Finding expensive lingerie in your purse?"

"You married into this family," Cristal reminded her. "I'd hope you'd know that by now."

Emmeline sighed. "You would think, and you'd be wrong."

"It's okay," Emmett said, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. "I'll always be here for you."

Emmeline smiled. "Good."

* * *

"I can't believe this is my family," Winter said, pacing as Qrow and Team RWBY watched her in concern. "I can't believe that everyone is so damn concerned about their legacies that they're paranoid and –"

"And it's been that way for a while," Weiss said, crossing her arms. "I'm surprised you're at all upset or shocked by this. Our family is a mess –"

"It wasn't always this bad –"

"Win," Qrow said gently. "If Edward Ciel really did help your grandfather hide an affair –"

"He did," Winter said, sounding a bit resigned at the fact. "Which I only know because my mother confirmed it…apparently Nicholas and Victoria decided, around the time that Emmett and Cristal were ten, that their marriage was over, but they didn't want to deal with the mess of a divorce. They both had a significant number of affairs after that, but they didn't want any of them to become public. It wasn't just Nicholas who wanted affairs silent, it was Victoria too."

"That makes sense," Weiss said, then sighing. "Better than our parents' relationship, at any rate."

"It was mutual on their part," Yang shrugged. "But didn't Nicholas and Victoria eventually reconcile?"

"A few months before Emmett and Cristal…a few months before they died, yes," Winter admitted. "But that was straining on them and they ended up in a divorce settlement a few years later."

"Because that's our family," Weiss glanced out the window and scowled. "A constant stream of a complete and utter mess."

Qrow rolled his eyes. "If you think that's bad, you clearly don't know my sister well enough."

"Mom's not that bad," Yang sent him a sharp look. "She's got her issues, but she's not as bad as you make her out to be."

"I'm going to assume that Tai's been telling you things like that for a while now," Qrow said. "Since he and Raven have…well…in the last few years, you can tell that they've mended their relationship. I think they're living in Mistral somewhere right now."

"Better Mistral than Vacuo," Winter said darkly. "Considering just how unstable Vacuo has become."

"Blame Varna," Blake said, taking her wife's metal hand in hers. "Considering everything that she's done to the kingdom."

"If you mean take the power there for herself, then yes," Winter hesitated as she went on. "Not that we don't all know that Salem is the one pulling the strings."

"We've known for years that Salem has Varna under her thumb," Qrow shrugged. "At the end of the day, it's going to come down to how long it is before Varna reaches her breaking point and goes off the grid."

"Because Varna of all people is going to suddenly go off the grid," Yang rolled her eyes. "That's likely, sure."

"Maybe she'll change," Ruby said, although she knew full well that the likelihood of that was slim to none. "Or, maybe, she'll just be scared enough to run away."

"You can't run away from someone like Salem," Qrow told her. "Raven tried it for years, and look how well it's worked out for her."

"Very well?" Yang sent him a confused look. "I don't agree with mom constantly running away, but, overall, running away from Salem has worked out exceptionally well for her. She and dad got back together, she has what she wants, he's still a huntsman but they're at the top of her tribe –"

"Well, if you put it that way, Raven's a special case," Qrow remarked dryly. "And, to be honest, the fact that she's managed to get away with –"

"Qrow –" Winter started.

"What?" He said. "Raven's commitment issues run deeper than just not wanting to fight against Salem and yet still screwing her over at every turn."

"She's got her reasons," Winter said, preferring that they avoid another argument about Raven. "Just as much as we have ours."

"I don't trust her much at all," Blake admitted, and Yang sighed. "I know that you don't want to hear that, but the truth remains that Raven's never shown a pure loyalty to anything –"

"And you've never shown a pure loyalty to our side," Winter reminded her, causing the woman to flinch. "Which is so concerning to the Atlas Council that they almost brought you into court for torturing a citizen."

Blake scowled. "That was –"

"You still have to cooperate with Kiara," Winter sent her a sharp look. "But I have a feeling that you're going to end up proving where your loyalties lie…one way or another."

Blake bit her lip, thinking of a similar statement that Caitlin had made the other day.

" _Look," She had said as she awkwardly tugged at the sleeves of her blazer in the living room of Yang and Blake's apartment. "This is, at the end of the day, a test. A damn good one, on Madame Davis' part, but a test nonetheless."_

" _So you're saying I have no choice but to cooperate?" Blake had stared at her, feeling vaguely sick. "What if I…even if it means selling out innocent people?"_

" _Again," Caitlin said. "They're trying to figure out where your loyalties lie. If you don't give Madame Davis the information she wants, she'll take that as you attempting to –"_

" _To play both sides?" Blake stared at her in shock. "I really have to –"_

" _Blake, I hate that you have to make this choice," Caitlin sighed. "But, at the end of the day, its going to be between whether or not you go to jail. And…and this means that you have to decide who you are, and what you honestly stand for."_

" _By…" Blake's hands shook as she spoke. "By selling out others?"_

" _Blake," Caitlin said calmly. "If you do this, you'll prove that you're no longer loyal to people like Adam…but if you don't, then you'll prove that you're loyal to them."_

 _Blake swallowed hard. "So, it's between who I was and who I am now?"_

 _Caitlin nodded. "It's your choice, though."_

"Blake?" Ruby said, looking at her teammate in concern. "Are you alright?"

Blake shook her head. "How can I be?"

"It's not going to be as bad as you've made it out to be," Weiss told her. "They just want to keep us all safe."

Blake snorted. "Because Kiara Davis of all people has moral ground to stand on."

"Blake –" Yang started.

Beside them, the dark haired woman's scroll started to buzz angrily, almost to the point of falling off the edge of the counter.

"Mom?" Blake said, answering her scroll quickly. "What –"

"Don't come home!" Kali exclaimed across the line, then a crash was heard. "Nothing's safe here, there's no –"

"What are you –" Blake started, anxiety rising in her.

"I'm sorry –"

"…Kali –" Ghira screamed over the line.

Another crash was heard, followed by vociferous swearing, terrorized and maniacal screams mixed together, and then there was a silence. The silence carried over as Blake set down her scroll shakily for a moment, but the moment did not last. Instead, the last voice she had wanted to hear spoke.

"Your family has never had any idea what they're telling us to give up," Adam's voice hissed over the line, and Blake picked it up perfectly clear. "If you think you're safe in Atlas…then you have no idea just how wrong you'll be."

It was then that the line clicked dead – perhaps an ominous omen for the, now, last extant member of the Belladonna line.

* * *

"Are you alright?" Karissa said as Natalie continued to look through things on her scroll. "With everything that's happened?"

"I'm not surprised," Natalie said darkly. "After all, this family's fucked up."

"That's not fair, not entirely," Spencer stepped into the room and wrapped an arm around Karissa. "Luna's already asleep. I guess letting her see some of the fights at the Vytal Festival today tired her out."

Natalie snorted. "The Vytal Festival is the epitome of how we all want our leaders to save the day in this world, but, at the end of the day, we're never going to get any sort of say in whatever it is that they trade away."

Karissa raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Natalie scowled. "You of all people should know what I mean. Being the head of the DFAMA and all. Especially since that means that you weren't elected to your position, you were placed there by the last president – not my grandfather, but his predecessor."

"Natalie –" Karissa started.

"That same president put Ronnie and Brianna in their positions," Natalie went on. "Emmeline was promoted to the rank of general under him as well – four years before my grandfather was elected president, Emmett and Cristal got their company back because of who they are and the hatred for Jacques, and –"

"That made sense –" Spencer reminded her.

"But, of course, Elizabeth and Kiara were placed in their positions by my grandfather in the beginning of his first term," Natalie shook her head. "I think it should be clear just how much faith we put in this…centralized power between a few families."

A silence passed between them before Natalie started to shove several things into a bag.

"I'm going to Beacon in March," She told them. "I'm not going to keep living in fear. If I have this power, I'm going to learn how to use it. I'm going to be a huntress, and nothing either of you say is going to stop me."

"Nattie, you've never fought anything in your life –" Spencer started.

"And now I will," She snapped. "At this point, I don't care about my life, I care about not dying in vain like mom."

Spencer bit his lip. "Natalie –"

"Oh, is that still a sensitive subject?" She scowled. "I thought you were as over her as you'd ever be."

He flinched as she slammed the door upon him following Karissa down the hall.

"'Rissa?" Spencer said, stepping into their room. "You okay?"

"Honestly," She said, leaning back into their bed. "I'm just exhausted with everything."

"I don't think I've ever been more relieved that I can skip work and no one gives a damn," Spencer smiled for a moment as he sat down beside her and ruffled her azure curls. "With everything that's happened in the family, that is."

"I told you about that conversation I had with Kiara after Cinder's hearing, right?" Karissa sighed when he nodded. "I don't think I've ever been more annoyed with someone's argument, and she's a lawyer! If she'd been any more blatantly manipulative –"

"She is eerily persuasive," Spencer shook his head. "She's always scared me a bit, but that may have had more to do with how…almost emotionless she acted."

"She still does," Karissa said. "It can't be healthy, to say the very least. Although…"

"There's proof that when she…let herself lose control that she slept with my brother," Spencer grimaced a bit at the thought. "I still can't believe he did that."

"I can't either," Karissa admitted. "Of all the people to be that much of a dick, I never thought it would be him."

"Seems like we're all starting to crack a bit under the pressure," Spencer bit his lip. "With all that's happened, with all that we've done…"

"I was just…relieved that she didn't find the last thing I want out there," Karissa sighed heavily. "You know what I mean by that."

He wrapped his arms tightly around her. "'Rissa, that was a while back."

"It was five years ago, and it does put me in a terrible position," Karissa shook her head. "And I can't believe I ever let that situation happen."

"It's not your fault that those Atlesians were killed in Vacuo," Spencer said, wishing there was more he could do to comfort her. "That lies on Varna's head, and she's –"

"But Elizabeth and I are still partially culpable for letting them break their security details and go regardless," She said as she tried to push the guilt away. "And that could be more than damning…"

Spencer sighed as he gave her a gentle squeeze. "I think there's a lot more than just that that could damn us all…"


	91. Chapter 91

_**November 29th  
**_ _ **Atlas Academy  
**_ _ **Amity Coliseum  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **8:28 PM**_

"And, as this festival comes to a close…"

The noise was deafening. The competition had been intense, the scandals even more so. But, nonetheless, the Festival had been a vast improvement from the last one that had even been comparable. There had been no fall of an academy, there had been only one so-called accident, and none of the kingdoms were pointing their guns at each other. A sense of relief was in the air, and, even with the release of the 'Ciel Pamphlet' as the media had coined it, things starting to settle. It seemed that the excitement of the Festival had dominated the kingdom and allowed a temporary release from the turmoil that Atlas was set to face in the coming weeks. The end of an era, the end of calm did not seem to be near. Rather, it seemed that things were remaining nearly as calm as they had been the last six years – that being a sense of peace that, as fragile as ever, was not near the breaking point yet.

"Things have changed quite a bit since the last time Atlas held this event," James said, sharing a look with Glynda and President Ciel as he went on. "And, with this being the second time since the…Fall of Beacon that we have held this event, as a kingdom, we are more than –"

"A disgrace!" Rosalinde Varna snapped, storming into the center of the newscaster's box. "Edward Ciel…I see we meet again. How's your daughter? Apart from ruining the legacy that your family has worked so hard to invent?"

Ciel bristled. "I had no idea you made any plans to attend the Festival."

"Your kingdom's state department made that rather difficult," Varna replied. "Considering the restrictions it placed on people traveling to and from Vacuo. Stringent visa requirements, oh, and, of course, the indictments the Council directed towards several members high up in my administration."

"Those were necessary for the safety of the people," Glynda informed her. "The kingdom of Vale, if you'll recall, acted before Atlas due to –"

"Interests," Varna said dryly. "Something that the kingdom of Atlas places above all else. If it isn't in the interest of the kingdom of Atlas, then it won't be done. Funny how that works. Funny who it benefits."

A tense silence passed amongst the politicians, general, and huntress while murmurs rippled throughout the arena.

"I'll make this easy on you, Edward," Varna said, stepping towards him. "Your kingdom is fraught with tension because of your family…tell me, are you any better than me when it really comes down to it?"

Edward hardened his gaze. "Yes."

Varna raised an eyebrow. "Interesting that you say that…"

"Unlike you –" Edward began.

"But, but, but…" Varna said, pulling out a gun and aiming it towards him. "It won't matter if your legacy is decided today. It won't matter if –"

"This isn't like you –" Glynda started, running across the box to intervene.

In the same moment, Varna closed her eyes and steadied her finger over the trigger. The next several seconds that followed showed the true horror of what the world was becoming, the true horror of the reality in which they were living. Ciel moved to escape her aim, but she had already fired. It was not him, as destiny was about to have found to have been written, to die that day, that hour. In a desperate attempt to reason with the woman she had been hoping – inn spite of herself and her better judgement for the last several years – was not truly a monster, Glynda pushed herself between them, hoping to stop Varna before she did anything that she could never be redeemed from. It was in that moment that, for a brief second, she felt something cold and sharp pierce through her and her body and vision went deep purple for a moment before something gave out and turned to darkness. With only a split second to realize what had happened before she collapsed to the ground and her blood splattered everywhere, Glynda found her aura unable to protect her, the adrenaline rushing through her body having forsaken her judgement. The bullet pierced her clean through her heart, leaving her aura defenceless to do anything – especially after the second shot flew through her as well. Everything spun, everything felt nearly numb.

And then there was nothing, nothing but silence – a silence which did not last.

"Glynda!" James screamed in horror, running over to his wife on the floor at the other end of the box. "Glyns, I –"

"Her blood is on your hands," Varna said almost inaudibly to Ciel. "But it should have been your blood on mine."

Pulling out her spell book from her bag as soon as she was out of the view of the horrified public, cameras, media, and, in correlation, world, Varna dipped into her powers as a sorceress to vanish. But, even if she had not been out of sight, she would not have been the focus of the people. Several members of security immediately pulled Ciel out of the box and to one of the meeting rooms of Atlas Academy where they also dragged Emmeline, Karissa, Spencer, Elizabeth, and James. The most resistant of these was General Ironwood. For minutes that felt like hours, he tried everything to help his wife, to keep her alive but her pulse stopped within a few seconds of him reaching her side. There was nothing about it that felt right, there was nothing about him that did not feel dejected and absolutely horrible. It took the medical team and several police officers to get him out of the scene and to the same room as the others, and, even then, nothing felt right.

"Oh my god," Elizabeth said, her eyes going wide upon him entering the room. "James, what happened to you –"

"How can you not know?" He snapped. "How –"

"I'm sorry, I think you can forgive me for being in here, discussing something personal with Karissa, Emmeline, and Spencer, only to be interrupted by the secret service pulling President Ciel in here," Elizabeth matched his tone perfectly. "Why the hell is their blood all over you? President Ciel seems too rattled to answer that question about himself, so I think –"

"Madame Morell," One of the agents said calmly. "Please, do not make this stressful situation worse for anyone by allowing your temper to get to you."

Elizabeth faintly scowled before gesturing to James. "Well?"

"I can answer that," Another agent said, motioning for all of them to sit down although Elizabeth remained standing as coldly as ever. "There was an assassination attempt, one that failed."

"I don't quite understand how that works," Karissa said a bit sharply. "Considering that neither of them are in medical care."

"It's not…" Ciel shook his head. "It's not our blood."

"What?" Emmeline stared at her father in horror. "No…what happened –"

"Prime Minister Varna showed up from Vacuo," The agent informed them, and Spencer turned to Karissa in concern as she squeezed his hand tightly from anxiety. "And attempted to kill President Ciel but…but instead shot Glynda Goodwitch."

Elizabeth stared in horror. "No."

Spencer glanced to her as he wrapped an arm tightly around his wife and gaze her a reassuring squeeze. "Eliza," He started. "Are sure you're alright –"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Is she going to be alright?"

A heavy silence passed, and the agents hesitated though they knew that had no choice but to tell.

"No…" James said, burying his face in his hands instead of waiting. "She lost her pulse…she's gone."

* * *

"Miss Belladonna," Kiara said flatly, motioning for the young woman to sit down in her office. "How are you?"

"Terrible," Blake told her bitterly, and Kiara raised an eyebrow. "All things considered."

Kiara leaned forward slightly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, my parents were murdered a few days ago!" She stared at the prosecutor for a moment before shaking her head. "By Adam Taurus no less!"

Kiara reached for a pen. "And how do you know this?"

"My mother called me to tell me not to come home!" Blake exclaimed, forcing herself not to break down into tears once again. "And, within a few minutes, there was crashing, and screaming, and the silence, and then Adam's voice there to tell me that my family has never known what we've gotten ourselves into!"

Kiara was silent for a long moment.

"May I see your scroll?" She finally said. "With any luck, we'll be able to pull back the data and sound bytes from the call in order to corroborate your story."

Blake hesitated. "Isn't that a breach of civilian privacy?"

"You are not an Atlesian Citizen," Kiara reminded her. "You are a permanent resident in full legal cooperation with the Council. The ' _may'_ was a nicety."

Blake sighed heavily as she handed over her scroll.

"Miss Belladonna, I know this is a difficult situation for you," Kiara said as gently as she could manage. "But this is an issue of national security. We cannot take anything lightly, and, as you are one of our most important witnesses –"

"Madame Davis, there is nothing in my life that feels normal anymore," Blake said, and Kiara paused as she took the woman's scroll into her hands. "And some of the people you're asking me to…to sell out…are perfectly innocent!"

"Innocent like you?" Kiara countered. "The law applies to everyone."

"Except people like me who cooperate with those at the top of bureaucracy who can take scandals and still survive," Blake said pointedly. "People like us can survive and bend the law just a bit."

Kiara took in a sharp breath. "Aren't you observant?"

"I know how Atlesian politics works," She said replied tersely. "Your kingdom is much better about transparency and appropriately applying the rule of law to everyone than the other kingdoms, but you're not free of having people with uncanny favour in the system. The wealthy, for one, those with power –"

"We have removed politicians from power before –"

"I know," Blake said. "Even to the point of a president resigning forty years ago to avoid being removed."

"You're remarkably well-versed in politics," Kiara said, slipping the woman's scroll into a drawer in her desk that she then locked. "Your studies have served you well. I'd even say that you'd make a good lawyer."

Blake considered that. "One like yourself?"

"Exactly like myself," Kiara said with a faint smirk. "Unless, of course, you're not the kind of person I think you are."

Blake bit her lip. "And what kind of person do you think that is?"

"Someone who takes," Kiara informed her. "When I was your age, I was like you. I kept taking what I wanted and, remarkably, I kept winning regardless. And look where I am now. I'm in an excellent position as a federal prosecutor, I have a family –"

"A husband you've been divorced from for three years," Blake counted off, having, off of Caitlin's advice, read over the basic information that the green-eyed blackbird had about her. "And a daughter that's crazy enough to have been sent to prison several times for various crimes."

Kiara pursed her lips. "I see it again. You're remarkably well-informed."

"It's one of the things I've learned being in this kingdom," Blake told her, leaning back a bit to ease her nerves while also appearing casual. "The more you know, the more likely it is that you're going to thrive."

"I'll amend that for you," Kiara said dryly. "The more resourceful you are, the more likely it is that you're going to thrive."

Blake shrugged. "Doesn't being well-informed fall in line with being resourceful?"

"I believe you've more than distracted me from the primary topic of discussion," Kiara said irritably. "So, do tell me, Miss Belladonna, what is it that you're hiding?"

Blake crossed her arms. "I don't think that's why you wanted to see me."

"This really is a game of cat and mouse that we've been playing in only the last few weeks," Kiara remarked. "But you're corrected."

"So, do tell _me_ , Madame Davis," Blake said. "Why did you want to see me?"

"You fascinate me," Kiara admitted. "Because everything you say is both true yet also untrue. Your polygraphs were unreadable and made almost no sense in comparison to the conversation we had during it, and that was true of the one that was about serious national security issues and of the one that was just about benign things about you."

"Maybe that's because I don't trust you," Blake said, knowing she was treading a dangerous line. "Because your entire career is predicated on throwing people in jail. Not that most of it hasn't been good. You've sent some of the worst people in this world behind bars, you've helped place Atlas on the quote un quote winning side of the war on terror, but you don't openly stand for anything but security. My question is what do you stand for?"

Kiara raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"

"If you stand for nothing," Blake said slowly. "What do you fall for?"

Kiara sighed. "If you must know, I have always felt the need to know, to be where things happen."

"And…" Blake hesitated. "Do you want politicians and leaders to save the day like everyone else?"

Kiara considered that. "Depends, considering that none of us get a say in what they trade away."

Blake stood up, her hands shaking. "You're more emotional than you'd care to admit."

Kiara shook her head as she stood up as well. "We all dream of a brand new start, Miss Belladonna," She said calmly. "But we dream in the dark for the most part."

* * *

Allison Adel hesitantly stepped into the alleyway, shivering in the dark.

"What do you want?" She finally said, her hands shaking even as she pressed them to the gun she had on her side. "And how did you manage to get out?"

"You seriously underestimate me," The familiar voice said, stepping out of the shadows. "Which is ironic, considering that you should know how resourceful our family is."

Allison swallowed hard as she forced herself to not show weakness and met her father's gaze.

"You seriously underestimate me," She replied, mimicking his tone as best she could and then gesturing to the gun in his hand. "Put the gun down."

"If you'll put down yours."

"You first."

Watts quirked an eyebrow. "Your abilities in negotiation have improved."

Allison scowled. "Your unpredictability and arrogance remain the same."

Watts smirked. "Like father like daughter."

Allison flinched at the remark.

"You hide behind your married name, behind your husband," Watts said casually. "But you can never escape who you are. Your children will never be able to escape who their mother truly is. Don't you see? You can't eliminate where you come from, no matter how hard you try."

Allison bit her lip. "How did you escape?"

Watts sighed. "Through…an accomplice of mine."

"I am not your accomplice!" A slightly shrill, yet also slightly maniacal voice exclaimed. "And I'll have you know that I am more favored than you are by our queen –"

"Yes, you're an inspiration," Watts rolled his eyes. "Stay quiet. We still need to, unfortunately, remain on Cinder's good side –"

"So," Allison said dryly. "You are working for her."

"With her," Watts corrected. "But the general sentiment remains the same."

"Doesn't change the facts," Allison shook her head. "You still haven't answered the question."

"You don't need to know the details," Watts said shortly. "Especially since I know full well that anything you say will be heard, one way or another, by your husband."

Allison crossed her arms. "Blake at least tries to do right by the world."

"Blake is in a position of immense power and is too much like a Ciel for his own good," Watts laughed. "The primary difference being that he isn't fraught with scandal because he's cheated on you, or committed crimes, or cheated on you because he committed crimes."

"Ronnie did what he had to survive," Allison said. "He genuinely loves Brianna –"

"I'm a bit surprised you're taking his side," Watts said. "Are _you_ sleeping with him?"

Allison stared at him in disgust. "Of course not."

"Pity," Watts said. "That would have been an interesting story."

"We've all done things we regret, we've all done things to survive," Allison informed him. "But we've done them for the right reasons, we've fought –"

"The quote un quote right fight," Watts interjected, sending Tyrion a dark look to prevent him from speaking up. "But, naturally, you've done so for all of the wrong reasons."

"What's so wrong about wanting to protect one's own family?" Allison countered. "When all you ever did was hurt me and mom?"

Watts narrowed his eyes. "You and your mother needed to learn discipline, you needed to learn how to –"

"There's a difference between what you're describing and what happened," Allison's voice shook as she spoke. "What you're describing is emotional and mental turmoil, physical abuse, and, in mother's case, sexual abuse –"

"That's not true," Watts said, but he was lying through his teeth. "Your mother and I had a complicated relationship, something you'll never be able to understand. Your husband is all over you –"

"That's right," Allison said with a faint smirk. "Because if you've ever taught me anything, it's that you don't come to a fight alone."

Watts stared as Blake stepped out from the corner of the alley.

"Believe me," Blake said, protectively wrapping an arm around his wife. "She and I don't do anything alone. Allie and I are team, and, to finish your thought, I am all over her in more ways than one."

Watts grimaced in disgust. "I don't want to have any imagery of your sex life."

"What do you want?" Allison repeated, taking her gun into her hand. "I don't want to have to use this, but if you threaten us again –"

"I want to survive," Watts informed her. "I want to have the power I've never been allowed to have."

"Power which you were denied because you abused your position and –" Blake started.

"I am not the first, nor will I be the last, person to abuse my position," Watts told her. "You know people who have broken laws of an order just as high as the ones I did, and, yet, you still support them. It's…ironic how that works."

"The situations are different," Allison snapped. "Something you seem to be completely oblivious to."

"You two are nothing but hypocrites," Watts shook his head. "There's something to be said about that. Perhaps it's that those in power now are the same people that we can't truly trust with it."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "And you think that people like you should be in power?"

"You two are on the wrong side of this war," Tyrion screeched. "You're only propping up what Salem seeks to destroy –"

"That being humanity?" Allison questioned. "You do know that the faunus are included in that, don't you? She's not going to spare your people if they oppose her."

"But they're not going to," Tyrion smirked, neither him nor Watts noticing as Blake started to record the conversation on his scroll. "Because Adam Taurus is loyal to her. He's the new leader of Menagerie, you know."

"I beg your pardon?" Allison said. "The people of Menagerie –"

"Ghira and Kali Belladonna are dead," Watts said, then laughing a bit. "Isn't interesting how that works? People cling to power in the name of peace, but they end up dead nonetheless."

"Taurus killed them?" Blake glanced to Allison in horror. "When?"

"A few days ago!" Tyrion exclaimed maniacally. "Cinder gave the warning at the end of her testimony to your Council – to the head of its DCCCP, to the head of its National Security Council, to the head of its DFAMA, and to its senators! How blind _are_ all of you? How is it possible that –"

"Now, now," Watts said, sending Tyrion a sharp look. "It would be imprudent for us to reveal all of what we know to them. If we're going to be –"

"We're leaving tonight –"

"No, you're not," Another voice said, and Blake and Allison split apart in surprise as the orange haired man stepped into the alleyway and fired shots from his cane at both Watts and Tyrion that hit them in the foot and stinger respectively. "Not in the states you want to, anyways."

Thinking quickly, and partially out of anger over his stinger, Tyrion created a rather thick cloud of smoke with a few crystals of fire Dust that allowed him and Watts to reach their transport so that they could escape the kingdom with Cinder hidden in the back before the sun rose.

"You both should be thanking me now," The man said arrogantly, reaching for a cigar. "Especially since I had absolutely no incentive to save your asses."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Amongst all the drama, I'd forgotten that you were released on parole today."

"I live up there," Roman irritably gestured with his cane to one of the third floor apartments. "You created quite a bit of noise, and it just so happened to piss me off. But…they piss me off more."

"Your loyalties…" Allison shook her head. "I don't even know what to think."

Roman sighed heavily. "Do yourself a favor," He told them before sauntering off. "Don't think, and don't trust anybody beyond yourselves. At least, if you want to survive because luck alone ain't going to cut it."


	92. Chapter 92

_**December 7th  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **10:01 PM**_

"President Ciel, I know this must be difficult for you," The newscaster said, sending him a sympathetic look as she went on. "But, with all of these new investigations open as a result of not only Goodwitch's murder but due to the escape of Arthur Watts and Cinder Fall, where do you see our nation heading now."

Ciel hesitated. "That is something to which the answer is uncertain, even for the best of us."

She raised an eyebrow in concern. "Do you think we're nearing the brink of war?"

"No," Ciel said firmly. "But I do think that we're reaching the apex in the war on terror."

"It's difficult to remember a time when we were not fighting that war," The newscaster shook her head sadly. "It was started fifteen years before you were elected for your first term as president and has been continuing through your tenure."

Ciel nodded shortly. "Yes, that is accurate."

"Why are we watching this?" Elizabeth said, standing up and cutting the power to the television set. "If it's bad enough –"

"Morbid curiosity," Cristal said darkly. "We all want to know exactly what he said even though we already know what he will. We're obsessed with death, we just are."

Spencer sighed. "That's nice, Chrissy."

"Well, it's not like we know where Varna went –" She snapped.

"Actually, we do," Karissa said calmly. "We were able to trace her a few days later to her…home in the city of Vacuo."

Cristal considered that. "I'm sure she's more than happy with herself."

"If being happy with herself includes having multiple lawsuits against her being filed by the kingdom of Vale, then you're right," Elizabeth said dryly. "That woman has always been a bit of a sadist –"

"If you're about to bask in being right –" Blake started.

"That wasn't what I was going to say," Elizabeth said, sending him a subtle scowl. "I was going to say that she's always been a bit of a sadist, but she's always tried to stay within the confines of the law. Her control over Vacuo is entirely predicated upon being tough on crime and ensuring that the law applies to everyone, and, to keep up her image, she's only walked all over laws that she could justify and get away with. Outright murder, regardless of the context –"

"There are some circles in Vacuo that are going to like that," Karissa countered. "It's horrible, and it's weakening her power on the world stage, but, in her own kingdom, it may have helped secure her power. A lot of people in Vacuo are justifiably angry with the kingdoms of Atlas and Vale for a lot of reasons, but Dust is the primary one."

Cristal rolled her eyes. "Yes, because the stimulus of the global economy in Dust trade is a terrible sin upon this world."

Allison hesitated. "Chrissy, you know full well that Vacuo is a struggling kingdom that really is more like thirty different –"

"Of course I know that –" She started.

"And people are irritated by the fact that something they can produce is not something they can really control because of the SDC, Eneron, and the Valerian Dust Corporation," Allison sighed. "The people who are so upset about Dust in Vacuo don't understand or care about the economic reasons, they care about finding someone to blame. Varna's always had some level of control over her people by blaming the SDC, VDC, and Eneron for their troubles, and, because she can blame their home kingdoms as well…"

Cristal bit her lip. "I don't know what to do other than what we already have been."

"Chrissy," Ozpin said gently, giving her a loving squeeze. "It's alright, none of this is your fault."

"Varna's ruthless," Karissa added. "She's the only one to blame for this –"

"I still can't believe she killed her, though," Elizabeth said, crossing her arms. "I've always had a lot of problems with Varna, but I never thought she could do something like this in cold blood."

"None of us did," Ozpin shook his head. "Of all the people I have ever misjudged…she's one of the worst. I hadn't expected it when she turned to Salem, I hadn't expected it when she started to fully consolidate her power in Vacuo, and then this…"

"I was really hoping that it was wrong when Glynda was…when she was officially declared dead," Elizabeth admitted. "Not only because the only person who deserved to die that night was Varna herself."

"Considering what she did?" Blake asked, and she nodded. "I think we can all agree on that."

"The primary problem is that there's nothing we can really do about Varna," Karissa reminded him. "If we cut off trade with Vacuo or if we inhibit it, then we're going to either push ourselves further to the brink of war – let alone the economic risk."

"I'm not thrilled about us letting things lie," Elizabeth said slowly. "But I agree that it's the best option we've got."

"For the kingdom?" Blake sighed. "I agree."

"It's the best choice we have," Karissa said. "Even if…even if it's not what I want to do."

Spencer took her hand tightly in his and rested his head on her shoulder. "'Rissa…"

"I just don't know what to say or do now beyond what we're…accepting," She said, then biting at her lip. "I…I never thought that Glynda would be one of the people we'd lose in this, and…"

"I know," He said, shifting slightly to press a soft kiss to her lips. "But we'll figure out how to…to move on. It's not like we've got much of a choice."

"It feels like everything's collapsing…" She said quietly. "And it's draining."

"I…" Spencer swallowed hard, trying not to think too much about the pills he had taken just to numb himself to fall asleep after struggling to comfort his wife. "I know, I feel it too."

"And we thought that things weren't going to get worse after Nicole snapped," Elizabeth remarked dryly. "That was more than stupid. How is it that we always should know better and yet still get ridiculously comfortable in a peace we should know by now is remarkably fragile?"

"Because it gets worse everything time she acts," Cristal said, her glasses pressing into her as she buried her head in her hands. "She keeps finding new weaknesses to exploit, and we're never going to be free of this…this torture!"

"We're getting closer," Ozpin said, rubbing her back as he tried to alleviate some of her anxiety. "It's going to be alright, Chrissy."

"I hope you're right…" She murmured. "Because everything seems like it has turned to hell…"

* * *

"Have a drink," Emmeline said, sending James a sharp look as she held a half-full glass of red wine in front of his face. "James, you took off work, officially, last week for the next month. Please, you need a drink."

"After you lost Emmett, was one of the first things you did have a drink?" James mumbled, although he reached for the glass nonetheless. "Emmeline, you didn't –"

"Because I was pregnant," Emmeline reminded him. "Which meant I could not. I tried to drown myself in work, I spent most of my time sobbing when I was alone –"

"Emmy," Emmett said gently as she sat down beside him. "It's alright, I'm here now –"

"And I wish that my wife could be," James said, hesitantly taking a sip of the wine. "But she can't be."

Emmett sighed, knowing better than to remind him that he had never actually died.

"James, I'm so sorry about this," Ronnie said, flinching involuntarily as Brianna took his hand in her increasingly cold one. "This is horrible, and it should never have been able to happen –"

"We still don't even know how Varna got in there," James said, then pausing for a long moment. "God, I don't even know how to explain why and how this happened to my children –"

"You can wait," Brianna said, sending him a sympathetic look. "And the investigation has only been open for a few days, you can't expect them as having found everything or even anything substantial yet. They'll figure this out."

"Really?" James replied. "They don't even know how Watts and Cinder managed to escape from under our thumbs on the same damn day –"

"Because it has only been a little while!" Emmeline sent him a sharp look. "James, I know that you're mourning, I know that you're terribly upset, but you of all people should know, at least, that things like this take a brutal amount of time and bureaucracy."

James looked to Ronnie. "I know they called you back from personal leave because this is an emergency –"

"An undeclared one," Ronnie reminded him. "And I'm only back for another week, because I'm keeping my promise to my wife."

Brianna sent James a sharp look. "And how would you propose we ease the bureaucratic process?"

James sighed. "Give me and Emmeline more jurisdiction –"

"Absolutely not!" Emmeline exclaimed in horror. "I've worried for years that I have too much power because of who I am on top of my position –"

"Sorry," James said, then shaking his head. "I don't even know what I'm thinking, I just want this resolved, I just want this to be dealt with –"

"And it will be," Ronnie told him. "But it's going to have to take time."

James was silent for a long moment.

"I know," He finally said. "I just wish that there was something that could…that could be done. Seeing my daughter and son have to go through the loss of their mother…they're only eight, and yet they know full well that a world leader murdered their mother –"

"It's horrible," Emmeline agreed. "But that doesn't mean we can act rashly in retaliation. If we do that, we're only going to make things worse."

He sighed. "I know you're right, and I hate that there's a part of me that wishes you weren't."

"That's normal," Emmeline sent him a sympathetic look. "You'll find a way to move on. You're not the only one of us who's lost someone they love."

"Except you and Emmett were able to have each other back," James said, dejection filling his voice. "The same thing is true for Oz and Cristal. And then Spencer…he's had it bad, but he's…he's stronger than I am. And he's been able to move on, he and Karissa –"

"Whether that's true or not, you can't let this consume you," She said as gently as she could. "You have every right to be upset, and you need time to handle this, but at a point you have to stop letting it control you. You can't let things like this consume you, you just can't."

James set the wine aside and pressed his natural hand against his forehead. "I still don't know what I'm going to do without her."

"Well," Brianna said. "You should probably start by being completely honest with your kids about this. Don't lie to them about why this happened, don't lie to them about what happened, and don't let them turn into cold, bitter assholes."

"Helpful," James said flatly. "I don't think you understand."

"You're right," Brianna said. "I don't, but I don't think you understand what you're feeling either."

He looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you are grief stricken, and your mind isn't in a good state," Brianna explained, biting her lip as she looked to Ronnie. "And you need to have time to reconcile yourself. This isn't your fault, even if you think it is."

"I was there and I –"

"James," Emmett said, sending his teammate a sharp yet also sympathetic look. "It all happened within the span of a minute. That wasn't enough time for anyone to process what they were doing beyond Varna who, I'm sure, didn't give a damn who she killed that night so long as it made an impact."

Ronnie sighed. "The evidence we've gathered thus far supports that possibility."

"I can't believe that she killed her," James bit at his lip as he spoke. "I never trusted Varna, and I always knew she had it in her to kill but I never thought that she'd kill Glynda. The two of them…"

"I know that the two of them used to be close, but things have changed a lot since them," Emmeline reminded him. "Glynda had even admitted that."

James went silent again, knowing that she was right.

"I don't know what else to tell you," Ronnie said, breaking the silence as he hesitantly wrapped an arm tightly around his wife, who, to his slight surprise, leaned into his embrace. "But this is horrible, it really is."

"Horrible doesn't even begin to cover it," James said, sounding more tired than ever. "And that's only scratching the surface of everything that's happened, everything that's started to fall apart in the last few weeks…"

* * *

"It's not right like this," Oobleck said as he brushed his fingers over Glynda's desk in Beacon Academy. "She was more than just a huntress, she was more than just whatever legacy people are going to attach to her."

"Practicing a eulogy already?" Port shook his head. "Barty, this can't be described with the right words. You have to know that this is going to be event that you yourself are going to have to teach. And it won't just be you. It'll be across the kingdoms –"

"I hope that whatever she died for did not make it in vain," Oobleck brushed tears away from his eyes and adjusted his glasses. "Of all the things we've ever seen, this has got to be one of the most horrifying."

Ruby glanced to her teammates where they were all seated in their old positions in the lecture hall for combat.

"No kidding…" Ruby said. "Dr. Oobleck, what do you think is going to happen now?"

"That, Ruby," He said sadly. "Is not something that I think any of us have even a real guess to."

Winter sighed as she looked between him and Qrow.

"I can't do this," She said, starting towards the door. "It's too much."

"Win –" Qrow started, following quickly behind her.

A weighted silence fell over them as soon as the door slammed shut.

"There's one thing I don't understand about this," Blake said, and they all looked to her in surprise. "And that's why she didn't kill Ciel too. He was her primary target, and, yet, when she killed Professor Goodwitch, she just let him live. She had several opportunities after to kill him too, and she didn't."

"She's crazy," Yang said dryly. "And crazy people act like the part. She probably just felt like killing someone important, and she did that even if it wasn't her initial target."

"That doesn't sound right at all," Blake said darkly. "I have killed people, and it's always involved the target. If I had been Varna, I still would have killed Ciel."

"So," Weiss said. "You are still like that."

Blake scowled. "I never said I was."

"You just admitted that you're more ruthless than Varna," Weiss said, both anger and anxiety rising in her voice. "What's your problem?"

"I was explaining how I know what Varna did doesn't add up!" Blake snapped. "How am I supposed to –"

"She's right," Oobleck said a bit awkwardly. "I'm sure she doesn't want to hurt anybody –"

"Then how come Kiara's so fascinated by everything you say?" Weiss countered, still looking at Blake accusingly. "How come none of your polygraphs were readable? What the fuck is it that you have to hide?"

Blake swallowed back a caustic retort about Weiss' own history.

"Well?" The former heiress demanded. "What is it that you keep hiding from us? You already have admitted before that you tortured the president's daughter, that you've –"

"Weiss," Yang said, placing a hand on Blake's shoulder and sending their teammate a sharp look. "Stop it, you're making this worse for all of us than it already is!"

"Oh, am I?" Weiss stood up angrily. "Because I'm right? Are you keeping secrets now too?"

"We've all got something to hide!" Yang exclaimed in slight exasperation. "There's no one in this room who doesn't have something they don't want to hide! I'm sure even Port and Oobleck do!"

"That's not wrong," Port admitted, starting to laugh. "Barty, remember that time Cristal –"

"When she was attending Atlas Academy and we were fourth years there while she was a first?" Oobleck smirked a bit, enjoying the lightened mood while it lasted. "What thing are you referring to?"

"The first day back from the winter holidays when she stepped out of a car that clearly cost way too much money," Port said, and Oobleck started to laugh himself. "And the ridiculously lavish, dark fur coat she was wearing."

"She's only 4'9''," Oobleck shrugged. "We should let her have whatever she can get."

"I think we can all agree that we were amused when Emmett stepped out into the courtyard one time that same year in a dress," Port added. "What made that so memorable was the fact that the dress was skin tight and proved what he always claimed about shaving his legs and underarms."

Oobleck rolled his eyes. "I had to push him aside several times in the shared bathrooms during that year because he'd be doing his hair or plucking his eyebrows. He's both as male as it gets, and as weird as it gets."

"Yeah, that's my uncle," Weiss muttered as she adjusted her coat. "I'll talk to all of you later."

Ruby watched her in concern as she left, though she did not go after her, knowing that Weiss needed her time and space alone.

"What's happening to us?" Blake glanced between her teammates. "After everything we've been through together, we're turning on each other faster than any of us can blink."

"Things have just been getting worse," Yang said, leaning further back as she looked sadly to her wife. "I don't think they've got much chance at getting better."

"Of course they don't," Blake said flatly. "Things aren't ever going to change, and we've just got to accept that."

"A bleak view indeed…" Oobleck said, sighing heavily as he confronted reality once more. "But, then again, what can we count on anymore?"


	93. Chapter 93

_**December 13th  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **8:02 AM**_

"I don't even know what to say," Winter said, sighing heavily as she paced through her and Qrow's apartment before leaving for work. "I don't know if I'm fixating on this, or if I'm –"

"Win, you're fine," Qrow said. "Okay? There's nothing wrong with how you feel. Honestly, I'm pretty damn upset too."

"Glynda's gone, my family is facing scandal alongside the Ciels –"

"Oh, you're not the only ones facing scandal," Caitlin Morell stormed into their apartment irritably. "My family is too because of money."

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "Your mother?"

"My father," She said, sighing heavily. "Explains all of the suitcases full of cash from my childhood, but all of the money we'd been taking from Jacques when he was the head of the SDC –"

"You're joking," Winter said, staring at her in shock. "Are you serious?"

Caitlin nodded weakly. "I know it was because we were on the verge of poverty, but it went on for five years! In two of them, we were finally stable!"

"Caity…" Cas groaned as she ran into the apartment, slightly out of breath. "Sweetheart, I know you're upset, but don't bother my cousin and her husband over it…"

Caitlin turned to her, biting her lip. "Cas…"

"It's going to be alright," Cas said, embracing her tightly. "I know it looks bad, but things are not going to go to hell –"

"How can you be so sure?" Caitlin stared at her, green eyes wide. "Do you know how bad this makes us look?"

"Yes," Qrow said, and Cas glared at him. "What? That's true. It makes the Morells look just as bad as the Ciels. I mean, honestly, it makes you all look awful and is just reinforcing the idea that the Ciels are a dynasty with more power and influence than they know what to do with."

Winter sent him a sharp look. "Qrow, this affects us too. If my father really was pawning a shit load of cash off to Michael Morell for a few years, then that, while compromising to him makes my father even more of a –"

"Shit," Qrow said, glancing to Caitlin. "Okay, you win. You're right, this is awful for all of us."

"Caity," Cas said gently, giving her wife a squeeze. "Please try to relax a little."

Caitlin considered that and then set her purse down on the countertop, sighing heavily.

"You know what, fuck it," She said in slight exasperation. "Let them take it all away, the sweet rolls and the Cartier –"

"Not like you've got much of a choice," Qrow remarked dryly. "How's Elizabeth feeling about all of this?"

"Terrible," She said haughtily, walking into the apartment. "Winter, I know –"

"You and I had a meeting scheduled for this morning –" She started tiredly.

"It's fine," Elizabeth said, holding up a hand to stop her. "Really, Winter, I have more things to worry about than us having to discuss this outside of work –"

"No kidding," Qrow said. "Your husband took dark money from Jacques without you knowing for a few years."

"This is the first time I've heard about this," Elizabeth crossed her arms. "Alright? I'm pissed off about it, and, believe me, when Michael gets home from Vale tonight, I'm going to make that more than clear to him –"

"You and daddy are fighting again?" Caitlin said, her already high voice going up an octave. "Please don't –"

"Caity," Elizabeth said gently. "This is a serious issue, this is a horrible situation for us to be in, and, while I have nothing to do with this and that will be clear soon enough, it's a scandal that has to be dealt with."

Caitlin twisted her bronze curls in her hands. "Why didn't daddy say anything if this was only an innocent business dealing for the sake of keeping us afloat?"

"Probably because he knew I wouldn't approve," Elizabeth said darkly. "Because he knew I'd be quote un quote too proud to take help from anyone, let alone someone I think is a lying, cheating asshole."

"Sounds like you're talking about both Jacques and your husband now," Qrow commented, and she restrained herself from slapping him. "Look, Elizabeth, you have got to know that it doesn't matter how much of a scandal this is because it's gone too far already, which means it doesn't matter anyways."

Elizabeth looked at him in shock. "How can you possibly –"

"Because maybe it's time you get over yourself and your status," He snapped. "It's not as if you haven't abused your power before."

Elizabeth's shock quickly turned to outrage.

"You –"

"Go ahead, say it," He said, leaning into the counter a bit lazily as he took a sip from his flask. "I've heard it before, I'm sure. Be as upset as you want, Elizabeth, but it's not going to change what I think about this. I don't think you or your kids have done anything wrong in this, but Michael definitely fucked up."

"So did my father," Winter reminded him. "This isn't just about the Morells or the Ciels, Qrow, this involves us too –"

"Why can't we just pass the blame over to the Morells for once?" Qrow said. "Why can't we just push the blame on the people who can afford to take it?"

"Because it's not right," Winter snapped. "We – and our family – is just as much to blame as theirs. Acting otherwise makes us just as bad as my father –"

"So you're willing to let our family get into trouble and scandalized over this –"

"I don't like it!" Winter exclaimed in exasperation. "But it's what's right! You always talk about how we have to be better than the Morells and Ciels, but, in this case, we have to be on par with them! We're no better, no less fallible than they are!"

"Thank you," Caitlin said, probing her forehead as Cas gently rubbed her back. "I'm not the only one who thinks that!"

Qrow sent her a slightly disdainful look. "I'm not too fond of you, especially knowing this. You can rely on the old man's money, can't you? Sure, it's a bitch, and it's given you and your family a leg up, but money isn't going to get you too far, will it?"

"Qrow!" Winter smacked his arm, sending him a sharp look. "How can you continue to set aside everything that we've done?"

"Because we aren't as manipulative as them!" He replied. "We're not –"

"You really do have no decency," Elizabeth scowled. "How much more of an asshole can you be?"

"Unlike you, I'm being realistic," He said. "Your family – the Ciel-Morells – are so full of it and have spent years with connections and money –"

"We're not –"

"Not individually," Qrow shrugged. "But together?"

Elizabeth went silent, unsure how to respond.

"This is a terrible situation for all of us," He said. "And I am not at all happy about being pulled into the epicentre of a scandal like this."

"We've always been in the epicentre," Winter said, shaking her head. "But we've just never been able to admit the truth of what we are…or of what we've done…"

* * *

"Spencer?" Karissa said, pulling her azure curls up into a high ponytail. "What's wrong?"

He sighed, staring into his coffee.

"Everything," He eventually said. "What are we even doing, 'Rissa?"

She stepped over to him and gently massaging his shoulders for a moment.

"Sometimes I wonder that too," She admitted. "With everything that has been going on, I don't even know how we're going to keep going."

"I just…" He shook his head. "It seems like everything has something to do with us is in the balance."

Karissa glanced at the inner side of his elbows. "That injection scar looks recent."

"I know…" He said, pushing the coffee aside and burying his face in his hands. "I'm nothing but a mess, I don't even know what I'm doing –"

"Spencer –" Karissa started.

"I got through almost a year sober and then this came down on us and…" Spencer sighed again, struggling to reconcile his thoughts. "And in the last few weeks I've fallen back…"

"Spence," Karissa said gently. "It's not as bad as the last time, and you've doing better than you were –"

"I still fell back," He said, finally turning to look at her. "'Rissa, I've still lost – again – and –"

"And you're still alive, and you're doing your best to recover," She said, hesitating for a moment but then embracing him tightly. "I know everything is a complete mess, but –"

"Mommy!" Luna ran into the room, her dark curls flying behind her. "You're home!"

Karissa and Spencer shared a look before he kissed her cheek.

"I'm going in a little later today, Luna," Karissa told her, and the five-year-old smiled as she all but tackled her mother. "My meetings aren't set until the afternoon anyways."

Luna smiled. "I like it when you're home."

"I do too," Karissa said, ruffling her hair. "I think your father likes it too."

"Of course I do," Spencer said, taking her hand tightly in his. "You know how much easier things are when you're…when you're here with me."

Karissa sighed and squeezed his hand. "It's going to be alright."

"Not if you're a Ciel, Morell, or Schnee," Natalie remarked dryly upon walking into the room, looking at her scroll. "Here comes yet another scandal…"

Karissa raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"This," Natalie said, passing her the scroll. "All of us are being swept up in yet another scandal on top of the ones that are already going on with the Ciel and Schnee families."

Karissa reached for her thin, dark blue reading glasses as she glanced over it.

"You're kidding," She eventually said, after scanning the article. "Of all people, Michael Morell took potentially dark money from Jacques?"

Natalie shrugged. "I'm telling you, this family is unable to go without doing something stupid that becomes a scandal. We're basically cursed."

Spencer flinched at the thought.

"Was it legal?" Spencer asked her, and Karissa sighed. "That doesn't seem promising."

"No, if this was illegal, we wouldn't have found all the information in here so quickly," Karissa shook her head. "And I'm sure I'll find out the official information soon. Elizabeth isn't involved, by the sound of it, but this doesn't make us, or the Morells, or the Schnees look good."

"No kidding," Spencer said, glancing over the article himself. "It sounds like Ronnie helped protect them too."

"Of course Ronnie helped protect them," Natalie snorted. "What _hasn't_ he been involved in when it comes to the Ciel family?"

"That's…" Spencer considered that for a moment. "I know he means well, but Ronnie's impulse control and temper are not great despite his intelligence. You'd think, for someone who was one of the most successful senators in recent history, that he'd put more thought behind things like this, but, clearly…"

"I worry about him," Karissa said, setting the scroll down on the counter. "If anything, after working with him for years, I've seen that he's cares about doing things right by the people, but he also cares about his family above all else. He'd never do anything to harm anyone on purpose, but he can be blind to the point of extreme optimism and extreme cynicism…that brief affair with Kiara in point."

"That about sums my brother up," Spencer said, sounding a bit resigned. "And that's been clear for a little while now."

"Ronnie's full of it," Natalie said, and Luna looked at her in surprise. "Lunes, you'll understand when you're older."

Her little sister started tugging at her sleeves. "Why is this so heavy?"

"Because it's cold out," Natalie informed her. "And I've got to go to my classes."

Luna watched as her sister grabbed her bag and then sauntered out rather irritably.

"Nattie okay?" She asked Spencer. "Daddy?"

"She's fine," Spencer told her, glancing at Karissa in concern. "Or, at least, she's only tired."

"Nattie's not any fun anymore," Luna said, collapsing against the wall and pouting. "She never wants to play anymore, she's always moody…"

"It's alright," Spencer assured her. "Believe me, she's just nervous because she's going to Beacon in March."

"Nattie's leaving Atlas?" Luna crossed her arms and looked at her father sadly. "Don't let her go!"

"She'll be fine," Spencer promised. "Okay? And we'll visit her."

"But I want Nattie at home!" Luna protested. "I don't want to lose her!"

"Luna," Spencer said gently, coming over to his daughter and sitting down beside her. "I promise it's going to be okay. She's just going to be in Vale."

"But that's so far…" Luna shook her head. "I wish Nattie was staying."

"We all do," Spencer told her. "But it's her choice."

Luna sighed. "Okay…"

Karissa glanced at the time. "I should probably be heading out, Spence."

He nodded as he stood up and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "I'll see you later, 'Rissa."

She smiled as she adjusted her bag. "Okay, Spence."

"Bye, mommy!" Luna waved, then running over and wrapping herself around her mother's leg for a moment. "Have fun with the Council!"

Karissa laughed. "You know I will."

Spencer smirked. "Always."

Karissa pulled her dark fur coat off the door just as she slipped out, pulling it tightly around herself as she stepped into the elevator. Even only based upon the clouds, the snow that was beginning to fall outside was not likely to ease up. A chill overtook her as she stepped into the parking garage and towards her sleek Mercedes although she paused upon seeing another car beside it – a familiar, silver Bentley. An eyebrow raised as she continued towards her car, reaching for her keys, she was only a little surprised when the woman she had associated with the car stepped out.

"I take it you heard what happened?" Cristal said, adjusting her glasses and then crossing her arms. "With the family?"

"Considering that the Morells, Ciels, and Schnees are basically one at this point, yes," Karissa replied, faint amusement in her tone behind the dark layer beneath what they were discussing. "At this point, I'm not surprised another shoe has dropped."

"On us?" Cristal sighed. "I wish we knew what was really going on, who's pulling the strings."

"We know the answer to that," Karissa said, glancing at her scroll. "But I don't think we want to truly acknowledge it."

"Fuck it, then," Cristal said. "Nicole. It's always been her, hasn't it? Especially with her and…Roman Torchwick's involvement. She's still pulling strings…but…"

Karissa glanced towards the falling snow for just a moment. "What we all want to know," She eventually said. "Is to what end this is for."

* * *

"Mommy?" Ryan Ciel said as he watched her tiredly spread whipped cream over a plain bagel. "Are you okay?"

Brianna looked up suddenly, almost dropping the knife.

"I…" She shook her head. "I'm fine."

Ryan looked at her in confusion. "Are you sure, mommy?"

"Yes," Brianna said, sighing heavily as she set down the knife. "I'm just not feeling well."

Ryan came over to her and embraced her tightly.

"I love you, mommy," He said, and she fought back tears. "You're sweet."

Brianna patted his back gently. "Ryan, there's something that your father and I need to discuss with you."

"What do we need to discuss with him?" Ronnie asked as he stepped into the room. "Brie?"

She bit her lip and then lifted up their son. "Ronnie don't –"

"Oh," He said in understanding. "Ryan, kiddo, your mother's right."

Brianna nodded as she stepped over to the couch and sat down with her son. "Ryan, your father and I have been having a hard time, but we've got some happy news."

Ronnie adjusted his glasses as he hesitantly placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What's that?" Ryan asked, looking at his parents curiously. "Mommy? Daddy?"

Brianna and Ronnie shared a look for a moment, still struggling to reconcile themselves in their relationship.

"Ryan," Ronnie finally said. "How do you feel about having a sibling?"

Ryan smiled. "I want a little sister!"

Ronnie and Brianna laughed a bit in spite of themselves.

"Well, that's possible," She said slowly. "Because your father and I are having a baby."

The seven-year-old grinned.

"So I'm going to have a sibling?" He said happily. "Really?"

Brianna smiled herself. "Yes, Ryan, you'll have a sibling."

Ronnie bit his lip. "Is the baby alright?"

Brianna glanced to him and then nodded. "It's fine, and the doctor said that it's more than healthy."

Ronnie sighed in relief. "That's good to know."

"Yeah," Brianna said tonelessly. "I suppose we're all just worried about nothing."

Ryan looked at his parents in confusion. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Ronnie said quickly. "Absolutely nothing."

Brianna sent him a dark look.

"Ryan," Ronnie hesitantly said. "Do you think you can be alright if your mother and I talk for a little? Alone?"

The seven-year-old nodded, albeit still confused. "Okay."

Brianna stood up quickly and, pausing upon swaying slightly, then all but gliding into the drawing room. Feeling a bit nauseated, which she pushed aside, she sat down on the chaise lounge and send Ronnie a sharp look as he stepped into the room as well, only shortly behind her. He sat down beside her a bit awkwardly, debating whether or not to take her hand and decided against it. A heavy silence based between them, only broken by her shaking her head.

"What are we even doing?" Brianna asked him, pressing her hand to her head. "Ronnie, I know he can tell that something's wrong –"

"Brie –" He started.

"Why are we lying to him?" She exclaimed. "Why are we lying to ourselves?"

"Brie," Ronnie said as gently as possible. "I know you're still angry with me –"

"I'm _trying_ to still be angry with you," She snapped. "But that's remarkably difficult. I'm angrier with Kiara than I am with you, but that might have a damn lot to do with the fact that I know you're only an impulsive man who will do what it takes for your family to be safe."

He stared at her. "Brie –"

"So much has happened in the span of a couple of weeks!" She went on. "Glynda's dead, the funeral was a mess of emotions for all of us, the Morells are suddenly in trouble now –"

"I know –" Ronnie began.

"And this is just a relentless cycle of scandal, scandal, scandal!" She shook her head. "How are we going to make any progress ever if we keep tearing ourselves apart?"

"We're not," Ronnie said bluntly. "If we can't fix this, we're going to end up giving people like Varna exactly what they want. She didn't try to kill my dad, she didn't kill Glynda just for show. She wants to watch turmoil and pain. She's nothing but a sadist, but those are the exact types of people that the world will fall to if we're not careful."

"I wish that we'd never put ourselves in such a damning position," She said, curling into herself. "I wish that we'd just let ourselves go through the process and get acquitted."

"I should never have done what I did with Kiara, though," Ronnie said, sighing heavily. "I shouldn't have given in, and I shouldn't have let my drive to keep us out of any trouble blind me to doing stupid things."

Brianna looked to him.

"I know," She eventually said, reaching for his hand and resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm still pissed about that…but it's not the only thing we have to worry about."

"You don't have to be perpetually pragmatic," Ronnie told her. "You have every right to be disgusted and angry with me. Believe me, I'm disgusted and angry with myself."

"I can tell," She said softly. "Because of the ways you've tried to make things better, because of how you've tried to diffuse the friction, because of…"

"Brianna," Ronnie said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I want us to be happy, and if that means leaving Atlas and trying to start over –"

"No," She said. "This is the life we've been given, and we're going to work with it."

Ronnie nodded as he pushed up his glasses. "Alright."

"I don't know what to make of what's happened," She admitted. "But I don't want to run away from our problems."

"I don't either," He agreed. "But I can't help but wonder if it's ever going to change, or are we just going to feel this way forever?"

"Who knows…" She muttered. "I just hope that Ryan and this baby end up having better lives than we do."

"I do too," Ronnie said, hesitantly kissing her forehead. "This isn't right, none of this is."

"Of course it's not," She said, then laughing dryly. "But, then again, this is Atlas. Since when do we care what's right? Hasn't it always been a game of interests, money, power, and politics?"

"That's what I'm afraid of," Ronnie sighed. "But there's no escaping it."

"We're part of a dynasty," She said. "Because, as it's ended up, the Ciel family has just turned into one of those families that were born to rule, or, more accurately in our system, have a hand in everything."

"That's not quite accurate," Ronnie said. "At least, right now."

"You know what I mean," She said, sounding tired despite it still being early in the morning. "With our family being so intertwined to the other powerful families. It's the Mar family, it's the Ciels, it's the Morells, it's the Schnees, it's the Adels. We're all connected to this, we all have a stake in most of the things that are damning. No wonder your father thinks that the kingdom is in danger."

"Even he said that he thinks the people need hope more than ever," Ronnie shook his head. "But he also said that he doesn't think it would be right for him to provoke that. Let them find it themselves in the things we're doing to remedy corruption the best we can, in the strengthening of our alliances. There's little worse than inspiring false hope."

"And there's little better than inciting further global polarization," Brianna said dryly. "I suppose we really are giving into the worst in all of us. Either that, or we're trying to convince ourselves that things will get better when they're only getting worse and worse."


	94. Chapter 94

_**December 18th  
**_ _ **Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council  
**_ _ **Head Executive Offices  
**_ _ **Office Of The President  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **11:03 AM**_

Nicole Ciel clenched her fists as she continued to hold up her illusion. She knew full well that she had been pulling strings for nearly a month, and she knew full well that she had been severing her family ties. There was something about that which bothered her. She still found herself, sometimes, wishing that her family was stable and happy. She always wished she had never been taken, and she always wished that she had never gone through some of the hells she had. Nonetheless, she tried to push that away. Her family had changed. She had spent years tracking them as best she could from a distance, and she had watched them change, albeit several steps removed. There was nothing that was normal anymore, there was nothing that had been as it was.

And that pissed her off. The family she knew was still there, but it was shrouded under the dynasty it had become.

"Miss?" Several guards stood before her, not recognizing her in large part due to her illusioned blonde hair and bright green eyes. "Who are you do? Do you –"

Neo pulled out her umbrella, not even attempting to be subtle. She ripped the sword out of its hilt and, too swiftly to be stopped, stabbed one of the guards clean through the chest. He only was able to scream for a moment, and quickly found himself collapse to the ground in a heap. The other guards immediately turned towards her, guns drawn. In earnest, they began to engage her. Several shots were fired, and she summoned illusion walls which shattered but allowed her to remain unharmed. Taking advantage of the few seconds she was buying herself with each new mirror, she stabbed yet another guard through his chest, and then another through the head. Blood was splaying everywhere; the scene was nothing if it were not gory. While later it would be determined what had truly happened, the security feed, too, was disturbed by her illusions.

"Who are you?" A young female soldier demanded, pointing a gun at her as she approached. "What the hell are you doing?"

The last enemy. The last one standing in her way, for the moment. Nicole glanced at the bodies around her, the bodies of people she had easily killed. But this one gave her pause. They were small, no older than twenty-four, and had long dark hair and warm brown eyes. For a moment, Neo had sworn she was staring face to face with her sister though quickly realized that this young woman was not Emmeline. Regardless of the fact that their facial structures were vastly different, the age gap should have immediately given it away without allowing the thought to pass through her head. Yet, still, she was given pause. Her heart started pounding against her chest, and she looked at her blood covered weapon. Nothing about this felt right in the slightest. Staring at the young soldier for a moment, Nicole continued killing her too but could not find it in her despite all of the lives she had taken in her own time.

"Who –"

Nicole summoned a hard illusion wall and used the time it bought her to knock the woman unconscious during her confusion. She had not seen her true form, she had not realized who she was. She was of no more threat alive than dead. Jamming her sword back into the hilt, Neo adjusted her umbrella in her hands before collapsing it and stepping towards her father's office just down the hall. There was a quiet hanging over the hall, one that was almost uncomfortable. The commotion had not been nearly as loud as she had accounted for, and she was more than aware that her father could be discussing something classified with department heads or with foreign representatives. She paused in front of the door to his office and was silent, listening for anything but heard nothing but typing and the occasional, rhythmic tap of a pen. Ridding herself of illusions entirely and showing her true form with her pure, silky dark hair and sparkling grey eyes that almost amounted to blue, she bypassed the security code and stepped into the room haughtily. Her father looked up in surprise, concern, and then a shock torn between upset and anger. She slammed the door behind her, crossed her arms, and waited for him to speak.

"What…" Ciel shook his head. "What exactly are you doing here?"

"I am your daughter," She reminded him. "Can't a girl simply catch up with her family?"

"Sometimes," Ciel said slowly. "I worry about what you perceive that word to mean."

She scoffed. "I feel the same way. I'm both Neo and Nicole Ciel, yet only seem to think of one as your daughter."

"I don't even know what happened to you," Ciel said. "You're…you're not the same person you were."

"None of us are," She said silkily. "You are a politician dealing with extreme scandal and being pulled every which way, Ronnie's an idiot who thought that the best course of action for protecting his family was to have an affair –"

"Nicole –"

"You don't understand," She told him. "And you never will. Nothing that I've become is what you want, yet it's who I am. How is it that that's the case?"

"What do you want?" Ciel finally said, looking at her both in concern and exasperation. "You say you want to make things better for the family, yet you keep dragging us further apart. What is it you're trying to do?"

"I'm trying to force us to see the truth," She snapped. "We're a dynasty, we're obsessed with our legacies, with our power and positions. If we don't have those things, we can't seem to figure out who we really are."

"That's not true," Ciel said, although he himself was unsure. "We're not a dynasty –"

"Yes, we are," She sighed heavily. "At the end of the day, we're nothing if we're not a dynasty. Everything we've ever done has been to preserve our interest and those of the kingdom of Atlas. Who cares who gets hurt as long as we and the people running this kingdom get what we want?"

Ciel considered that.

"You're not entirely wrong," He admitted. "We've put the interests of the kingdom of Atlas ahead of what is right for not only the people in our kingdom, but for those living in others."

"The Atlas military has some presence in almost every corner of this world," She added. "Which makes us look even more like the sole superpower left. Vale and Atlas used to be the two superpowers, but, since Vale has started to fight internal issues that have plagued it for decades…"

"I know," Ciel said, then eyeing her with a bit of suspicion and curiosity. "But we're trying to protect people, and we're trying to fight terrorism –"

"If we fight in every single war against whatever could oppress us or is oppressing others, when are we going to stop?" She scowled. "This is the problem. Pure, unfettered arrogance are rampant in the heads of every executive department in the Atlas Council, in you, in our family, in the legislature, even in those we place as judges in our courts. Every damn person in this kingdom seems to be arrogant beyond belief!"

"Does that include you?" Ciel asked her. "How did you even get in here?"

"That's not of any concern to you," She told him. "And, yes, it does include me. I'm just as much Atlesian as the rest of you. I was born here, I act like I was raised here, and I've never been able to let go of the arrogance that being able to call myself a Ciel has given me. I've done horrible things, I've done things I even regret. But that doesn't mean I would change them. This is who I am, this is the reality. I don't care if I'm tearing the family apart, I'm forcing us to see what we really are."

"But that raises the question," Ciel replied. "Of whether or not that's worth the cost."

She shook her head. "But aren't you proud of your baby girl?" She sneered.

* * *

"It's colder down here than I remembered," Caitlin said, stepping out of the elevator with Cas and Team RWBY and into the Atlas Academy Vault. "Doesn't help that it's winter."

Cas sighed. "Even I have to admit that. There's something eerie about it too."

"Why might that be?" Weiss remarked dryly. "Is it because there are two objects down here that can destroy us all?"

"I wouldn't exactly say that," Blake sent her a sharp look. "Knowledge is unusable because of –"

"We did what we thought was right," Cas snapped. "Don't bring that back around again, we've had enough debates about it."

"Fine," Blake said, then sighing heavily. "Still, knowledge is unusable and so it's not an object that can destroy us all, at least, not for another century just about. And, then, the other is the Relic Of Creation."

"Which can revive people long since lost," Weiss reminded her. "Or have you forgotten the reason why Emmett and Cristal –"

"Weiss," Ruby said gently. "I know this is a difficult subject –"

"Of course it is!" The former heiress exclaimed. "My family's a mess, and the fact that, now, we've only continued to fall apart –"

"Oh, please don't go there!" Caitlin scowled at her. "I don't want to think too much about the scandal my family is complicated in."

"I'm sorry," Weiss said irritably. "I had no idea how sensitive this subject was to you, since your parents don't resent each other and your father is actually a good person."

Caitlin clenched her fists. "You know not everything is that simple –"

"Your life is a damn sight better than mine –"

"Which is ironic, coming from a spoiled heiress –"

"Which is ironic, coming from a member of a dynasty –"

"Stop it, both of you!" Yang snapped. "You're just making things worse than they already are. You know this is exactly what they want, for us to turn on each other. Don't play into their hands!"

Caitlin and Weiss scowled at each other for a moment before haughtily regaining their composures.

"Why exactly are we going down her again?" Blake looked to Ruby. "And why did you need all of us?"

"Because Caitlin has information about foreign relations that the rest of us don't," Ruby said, sending the woman a sympathetic look. "Cas also has a lot of information we don't because she's the CFO of the Schnee Dust Company, and we're all members of the group –"

"There they are," Weiss said as they reached the Relics. "Creepily glowing at us and screaming 'I'll damn you all if you fuck this up'."

"Never thought I'd hear you swear like that," Caitlin noted. "I always thought you were more proper than that."

"We have a swear jar that we put money in when you curse," Weiss informed her. "And it's overflowing so much, at this point, that we are going to be able get a bunch of new things we want in a day or two."

Caitlin scowled. "Damn you."

"Five," Yang said, writing that down in her scroll. "We'll put that in later."

Caitlin stared at them in complete exasperation. "Why doesn't it count when Weiss did? What's fuck worth, thirty? Why don't you double it and give me sixty because Weiss used the words 'fuck this up'?"

"That's seventy in the swear jar," Yang smirked as she put that down. "Guys, I think we'll have saved up enough for me to get a new motorcycle and a bunch of other things at this rate."

"Why you –"

"Caity," Cas said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "This isn't worth it."

Caitlin considered that for a moment.

"Fine," She eventually said. "But you guys are still being assholes for keeping a swear jar for every time I curse."

"It's because you do it a lot," Blake informed her. "And it's a great way for us to make sure Yang doesn't go out and just get a new motorcycle or something whenever she wants."

Yang sent her wife a sharp look. "Hey, you like my motorcycles!"

"In the summer, when I can ride on the back of it with you and not feel like I'm being ripped open," Blake replied with a smile. "You know I like summers in Atlas better than the almost unnaturally cold winters."

"You didn't grow up here," Caitlin said darkly. "Believe me, it gets colder up north."

"I don't want to know," Blake said, shivering at simply the thought. "In all honesty, I don't even know what I'd do if I had to live in perpetual cold."

"This is why we force ourselves to," Yang said, starting to laugh. "Since we have to be in Atlas often enough anyways."

"You two are insane," Caitlin rolled her eyes. "If it gets cold, put on more layers. It gets warm, take them off."

Yang smirked. "Should I do a strip tease in Vacuo?"

"No!" Caitlin exclaimed, horrified by the thought. "Oh, god, Yang, you can't be serious!"

"I could," She shrugged. "What do you know?"

"I know that I'd be freaked out if you tried to do a striptease here in Atlas!" Caitlin stared at her. "And I would be more freaked out if you oiled yourself up and did one in Vacuo."

Cas laughed. "You have to admit, the thought is pretty great."

Caitlin looked to her wife, completely lost. "How about we not go there?"

"We're not allowed to travel to Vacuo anyways," She reminded her. "Because of our statuses."

Caitlin sighed. "Well, with everything that's happened, that's for more than one good reason."

The somber note held as silence passed over them.

"What are we even doing anymore?" Weiss finally said. "If we're all damned? We know who the maidens are –"

"And we can never let Varna find out that Elizabeth is the Summer Maiden," Cas said, giving her wife a gentle squeeze in an effort to diffuse her tension. "For than one reason."

"She would kill her –" Caitlin started in complete upset and horror.

"And the Summer Maiden can unlock the Relic Of Destruction," Yang reminded her. "Which really would damn us all."

"No kidding," Caitlin shook her head. "The Relic Of Destruction, hidden underneath Shade Academy…that's the last thing anyone wants Varna to have in her power, isn't it?"

* * *

Natalie Ciel opened the palm of her hand as snowflakes continued to flurry into the parking garage for the building in which she lived. There was something almost eerily peaceful about it. The cold was biting, and she hated it even with the thick cover of her trench coat. She looked simple, composed. The opposite of what her family had become. There was nothing about her which felt even a little okay anymore. The scars from her cuts on the inside of her wrist were proof enough of that. While they were months old and she had not harmed herself since her father had found out, she was still done with everything. She was nearly seventeen-years-old, now, and that made her feel both better and worse. She had done it, she had survived, but, at the same time, she was marked for death. And what made that so poignant, was that she was marked by her eyes.

The same eyes that she associated with her mother were the same eyes that she worried would be the cause of her demise. She had no care for the war. She had no desire for a fight, but she knew it was inevitable. Whether or not she was happy about it was trivial. At the end of the day, she was going to have to say goodbye to everything she had ever known; solitude, serenity of the mind, and, most of all, peace. The world was only becoming more and more deadly by the day. Knowing for almost a year now what had truly happened to her mother only made it worse. She knew to whom Cinder was loyal, and she knew for what reason the amber-eyed woman acted. They were all damned, that was more than prevalent. For a family that seemed to have so much, they truly did have so little. They all stood upon shaky ground, and they all faced a never-ending series of trials – both literal and metaphorical. Nothing was ever going to be the same.

Everything had changed so fast. She admitted to herself that she found quite a bit of beauty in the storm – so much, in reality. The storm holds beauty, because, in the end, there is always a moment of quiet. There is always the eye of the hurricane. There is always the moment of complete calm. Then everything comes rushing back, the waves break, the tides flood, and the rapture begins. The snowfall weightens and leaves behind its wistful youth. It shifts into a perfect storm. The perfect storm is heavy, it is angry, it is repressed. It lets loose everything which it has been keeping inside, and, while self-destructive, holds beauty in the sense that it is a pure and honest form of expression. Perhaps the snowflakes which she was catching and freezing in her hands with her semblance were her. Unsure. Unyielding. Unready. Whatever the case, she had to accept what she was given.

"Nattie?" Spencer stepped out into the garage and stared in slight confusion at his daughter, who was sitting on the top of the hood of her car. "Are you alright?"

"I guess," She said tiredly. "It's the winter holidays, finally, so I don't have anywhere I need to be."

Spencer sighed. "Are you okay?"

"That depends on your definition of okay," She replied. "I'm okay in the sense that I feel calm and able to think clearly, but I'm not okay because I know that everything I'm doing in my life might be for nothing."

Spencer raised an eyebrow. "Sounds a lot like me."

"You and I are a lot alike," She said tonelessly. "Like father like daughter."

"Nattie," Spencer said, pulling his coat tighter around him in the cold. "What's bothering you?"

"Everything," She said, leaning back against the cold metal of her car. "This war is probably one we can't win, but, at the same time, it's one that we're still fighting. We all say we're willing to die for this, but we're not. We all want to live, and we have nothing against doing whatever it takes to survive."

Spencer sighed. "That's not just us."

"I know," She crossed her arms and used her semblance to freeze the windshield of her car. "It's funny how this world has changed so fast. I barely feel human some days, and yet I still am. Sometimes I wonder why I even try. It feels like we might just be wasting our time with this war. Maybe giving up is for the best."

"If you think that, why are you going to Beacon?" Spencer asked her, stepping over towards her. "You don't have to, Nattie. You could stay here in Atlas and pursue anything you want."

Natalie sighed. "It's stupid."

"I don't think I believe that," Spencer said, sending her a sharp look. "What's motivating you?"

"Probably the fact that I'm so done with this phase of my life," She said, staring almost aloofly at the falling snow just a few feet away outside. "I want to learn to fight, I want to learn who I am, because, right now, I don't think I know who I am. And, until I found who that is, I don't think I'm going to be able to be happy."

Spencer sighed. "None of us are ever going to be satisfied, are we?"

"We're a dynasty," Natalie said dryly. "Hasn't that become more and more apparent as time has gone on?"

"Well, yes," Spencer admitted. "But, in some ways, that makes everything worse."

"That everything's a mess?" Karissa asked, surprising both Spencer and Natalie. "Kind of an odd place for you to hide."

"I'm not hiding," Natalie told her. "I'm in plain sight, anyone could find me, see me, shoot me, or kill me."

Spencer grimaced. "That's a horrifying thought."

"It's realistic," Natalie replied. "We've seen what's happened when people try to keep their hearts beating when they're marked for death. I'm terrified because I know that my silver eyes have placed a permanent target on my back. But I'm going to learn to fight because, if I can't find myself, if I can't learn to fight…then what am I even living for?"

Karissa sighed. "I know how that feels, but all can think about is that…"

Spencer took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Are you okay, 'Rissa?"

She embraced him tightly for a moment. "I think so."

"Okay," He said. "We can talk more later."

She nodded. "I just hope that all of our hearts can keep beating, damn it. I don't want us to rewind, and I really don't want us to fall back into hell…"


	95. Chapter 95

_**January 1st**_

 _ **City Of Atlas**_

 _ **Atlas**_

 _ **Downtown**_

 _ **9:19 PM**_

"I still can't believe that dad was almost attacked the other day," Ronnie shook his head. "It's not right, and –"

"She's our sister, which makes it worse," Emmeline said dryly. "I don't like it either, though. It's awful, and proof that no matter what we do…"

"We're always going to be damned," Spencer said, and Karissa looked to him worriedly. "At least dad was alright."

"He was lucky," Ronnie reminded him. "And the State Department is tightening our borders and issuing travel warnings for every kingdom except for Vale – on top of terrorism warnings for parts of our kingdom."

Brianna bit her lip. "I wish you weren't working at all right now."

Ronnie hesitantly took her hand and squeezed it. "It's only been a little, and it's been from home."

She sighed. "I know…"

"I'm more so irritated that we lost tracking for her and Torchwick," Emmeline said irritably. "We can't even tell where they've gone."

"We'll find them," Emmett said. "It's not like we haven't found people who've done worse than them."

"Like Watts?" Karissa raised an eyebrow. "I don't think you can equate the two."

"You can't," Emmeline said darkly. "Watts we were able to track, amongst other things, and he ended up making things easy for us because he was the one who designed the system that we had used to track him."

"Which he should have been able to see," Ronnie added. "Although he was the one arrogant enough to think that he would be able to hide himself from the system."

Karissa rolled her eyes. "His foresight was never something that we ever praised."

"None of us ever praised him," Emmeline sighed. "But we didn't do anything about him for too long either."

"Well, that's one of our problems," Ronnie said. "We don't act."

"That's not true," Emmett said, sending him a sharp look. "You act, but the rest of us are more cautious."

Ronnie tensed, squeezing Brianna's hand almost painfully tight.

"Ronnie…" She said, her semblance activating.

He let her hand go.

"Sorry," He said, embracing her for a moment before going on. "I know I've made mistakes –"

"You're dangerously impulsive," Karissa said, and he sighed. "Something that caused you trouble as a senator and has caused you even more trouble as the head of the State Department –"

"I know that –" He snapped.

"And you have a temper so aggressive that I'm shocked you can still keep your damn head on your shoulders," Karissa shook her head. "Ronnie, I worry about you but, at the same time, I can't help but find myself annoyed as hell with you."

"That's a common thread," Spencer said, and Ronnie scowled. "Ronnie, you're not arrogant enough to think that what 'Rissa and I are saying isn't true –"

"What you're saying is –"

"It's true," Brianna said, a bit of dejection in her voice. "You're trying to be better, but…"

"But what?" Ronnie looked to her with slight worry.

"You…" Brianna bit her lip. "Sometimes I don't even know…"

"I'm sorry," Ronnie said, wrapping an arm around her and placing a hand protectively over her slight curve. "I'm trying to make things better, I really am –"

"I know that –" She started.

"Brie, I don't know what more to do," He said, and she sighed. "I love you, and I'm trying to put our family before everything else –"

"Later," She said, putting up a hand to silence him. "I don't want to think about this right now, I don't want to deal with it. Later, alright?"

He sighed, but nodded. "Alright, Brie."

An awkward silence held over them.

"So," Emmett said, reaching for a glass of wine. "Setting aside the fact that I'm acting like my sister –"

"Chrissy's drinking isn't that bad," Emmeline rolled her eyes. "Sometimes, I think she wants you to think she's an alcoholic when she's not."

"Why?" Spencer questioned in half amusement. "So he'll charge expensive wine on your credit card and not hers?"

"That doesn't happen," Emmett said, laughing although he glanced to Emmeline a bit nervously. "Right?"

"I'm not going to say," She said, smirking. "You can believe whatever you want, you and your sister are some of the oddest people I know."

"Which is saying something," Karissa remarked dryly. "Considering some of the people we work with."

Ronnie shifted uncomfortably. "That's an understatement."

"Kiara did –" Emmett started, then pausing awkwardly. "Sorry."

"What has she done now?" Brianna buried her face in her hands. "Is it just as humiliating?"

"No," Emmett said, glancing around and adjusting his glasses. "At least, only to herself."

Brianna looked up slightly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Something she said to the senate," Karissa said, and Emmett gave her a grateful look. "That involves her motivations for…'high order manipulation' and 'prosecutorial misconduct'."

Ronnie raised an eyebrow. "I didn't hear about this."

"For good reason," Emmeline informed him. "You'll see it soon enough, but the gist of it is that she's in trouble for manipulating witnesses with the possibility of high mandatory minimum sentences. She admitted to using the tactic against Blake Belladonna a few months back, and the senate is debating whether or not it is misconduct. And then she made a comment to her secretary about you."

Ronnie shifted nervously.

"What exactly did she say?" He asked her. "About me?"

Spencer started laughing upon Karissa whispering it to him. "You're joking."

"If only I were," She said, smiling as she rested her head on his shoulder and let him hold her close. "I don't have the imagination to make things like that up."

Ronnie sent his brother a sharp look. "What is it?"

Spencer hesitated. "She called you an ignorant slut."

Ronnie sighed. "I deserve that."

"No, you don't," Brianna said. "You made a mistake, but it was only once –"

"Brie –"

"I'm serious," She said sharply. "Don't be a dick about this."

Ronnie went silent.

"We've all gone too far," He eventually said. "But we're still justifying a million different things –"

"It's not as if we have much of a choice," Emmeline reminded him. "Do you want to admit to some of the things that Nicole accused you of? That she accused Brie of?"

"Of course not," Ronnie snapped. "But that doesn't make it any less true that we've made more mistakes than most ever will, and it doesn't change the fact that we're going to pay the price…in one way or another."

* * *

"Alyssa?" James hesitated as he stood in the doorway of his daughter's room. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," The nine-year-old said, staring out the window. "It's fine. Everything's fine. Why does everyone keep asking if it is or isn't?"

"Is this about your mom?" He asked her. "Alyssa?"

"Maybe," She said, not wanting to think too much about anything. "I miss her."

James sighed heavily. "I do too."

"Why did that Varna woman even have a gun?" Alyssa began to trace the patterns of the snow against her window. "Why did she hurt mom?"

"I don't know," James admitted. "But she was trying to…to secure her power."

"Why don't we just go after her?" Alyssa bit her lip. "We have the power too."

"It's not that simple," James told her. "Things just don't work like that –"

"Well, they should," She crossed her arms. "If Atlas is the world's strongest military power, then we should be able to have whatever we want."

James was silent, unable to think of a decent response to that.

"You're a general," Alyssa reminded him. "Why can't you just demand something, and have it done?"

"Because that's not how things work," James said, then pausing upon hearing the door open downstairs. "That'll be Elizabeth –"

"Okay," Alyssa said, rolling back against her bed. "I'm going to read."

James closed the door to her room quietly, quickly heading down the stairs.

"Elizabeth?" He paused upon seeing the chair of the Atlesian National Security Council. "Good, it's just you."

"Well," She said irritably. "You heard the news over a week ago."

"You and Michael are getting a divorce," James sighed. "I'm sorry."

Elizabeth shook her head. "It's alright, it's no worse than what you went through a few months ago."

James motioned her into the drawing room, quickly shutting the door.

"When did you two decide to split?" He asked her. "Eliza?"

She bit her lip. "About a week after I found out about the dark money. He wasn't cheating on me or anything but…after everything…the way that he shattered my trust…"

"I take it your daughter didn't take it very well?" He sighed when she nodded. "Eliza, I'm so sorry –"

"It's not your fault," She said, looking at her hands. "And she understands, she's just worried about me."

James placed his natural hand to her shoulder. "Is there anything I can do?"

She shook her head. "I just need someone right now."

James sighed. "I don't know what to say."

"We haven't been able to do anything we've said we can, anything we've said we want to," She said, then laughing dryly. "We do dream of a brand new start these days, and yet we're still continuing to dream in the dark for the most part –"

"We've made progress –"

"What progress?" She sent him a pointed look. "Edward Ciel was almost killed by his daughter a few weeks ago, the entire Ciel family is divided because of her, the Schnees and my family are at the center of major scandal –"

"Eliza –" James started gently.

"You know what I'm talking about," She said. "You know what I mean when I say that we're letting ourselves die."

"You think we can't defeat her."

"Of course we can't defeat her," Elizabeth shook her head. "No, if we could then we wouldn't be in this situation right now."

"If we couldn't, she would have killed us all a long time ago," James countered. "We just have to keep trying –"

"That's painfully arrogant," Elizabeth noted. "Not that we're not all at fault for being like that."

James sighed. "We do seem to think we have control over everything."

"I'm not saying we've let power go to our heads," She said. "What I am saying, however, is that we're expecting things that we can't have."

James considered that.

"You're right," He said. "And I know that –"

"If you think that all of this…" Elizabeth activated her powers as the Summer Maiden. "This is another reason my marriage imploded. I know I should have said something, I know that I shouldn't have been afraid to tell him that the powers had gone to me, but I was scared. After everything –"

"You're more than justified," James told her, placing a hand to her knee. "I was surprised at first, I'll admit, but you're more than justified in wanting as few people to know as possible."

"Not that my temper made an allowance for that," She said, trying to set aside her emotions. "Considering the fact that it's the only reason everyone found out that I'm the Summer Maiden."

James was silent for a long moment.

"What exactly happened for you to get your powers?" He finally asked her. "I can't imagine you taking them yourself."

"I didn't," She told him. "To be perfectly honest, I don't even know what happened for me to end up with the powers, but I got them regardless. And, with everything that's happened involving Varna in the last few months, I'm more worried than ever because of them."

"She's not going to know," James assured her. "She's not going to find out, and she's not going to endanger your life."

"My life is already endangered because of her," Elizabeth said darkly. "Considering who I am."

"Elizabeth –"

"I…" She glanced at her bare hands, still feeling a bit odd about not wearing her wedding ring. "I don't even know why I try sometimes. I've been there when so many things have happened or developed, and I'm always going to be a target –"

"Elizabeth –"

"James," She said, delicately pushing his hand off her knee. "You're not going to be able to convince me otherwise. I know what's coming for me, whether I like it or not. All I can hope is that I won't be killed because of it."

He nodded. "If that's what you honestly want."

Elizabeth was silent for a long moment.

"I'm going crazy…" She muttered. "I have to be."

James raised an eyebrow. "For what reason?"

Elizabeth hesitated. "I don't think you want to know."

"How come?" He said, eyeing her curiously. "Elizabeth?"

"If…" She bit her lip. "Don't think."

She pressed a gentle kiss to his lips for barely a moment before pulling away.

"Sorry," She said after a time. "I –"

To her surprise, he pulled her back in, not thinking about what he was doing in the slightest.

"Is this a mistake?" He asked her as she found herself falling back against the chaise lounge. "How much are we going to regret this?"

"Depends," She said. "I know that things are bad, but –"

He pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

"Maybe you're right," He said, trying not to think about the woman he knew he would never be able to see again. "Maybe we shouldn't think…"

And, so, they fell into each other with no thought, perhaps beginning to achieve perfection by letting go.

* * *

"I'm not sure what to do," Ozpin admitted. "We've lost control over several key factors in this."

Caitlin snorted. "I don't think anyone's ever had control over Varna. She's crazy, and she's murderous, and nothing short of a –"

"We know," Cas said, taking her hand. "But there's nothing that we can do about it aside from killing her ourselves."

"The Council considered an assassination," Caitlin admitted. "But decided against it because of the internal problems we're already facing."

"That's an understatement," Cristal said, sharing a knowing look with Ozpin. "I take it your mother is concerned about Varna more so than a lot of the others?"

"She's…" Caitlin shook her head. "Mommy's worried about scandal, she's worried about what having the powers of the Summer Maiden are going to mean going forward, let alone the concerns she has about what Varna would do if she knew about her powers."

"Varna's ruthless," Ozpin said. "That would be one of the worst possible scenarios."

Cristal recoiled at the thought. "Varna taking the powers of the Summer Maiden? Varna finally having unfettered access to the Relic of Destruction? She'd damn the kingdom in less than a day!"

"Which is why we have to keep her away from them," Caitlin said. "Because, if we don't, we're going to give her every damn thing that she wants."

"A disturbing thought in any context," Cas remarked dryly. "Seems like we're damned either way."

"Salem certainly played her cards right," Caitlin crossed her arms. "She divided the Ciel family, and in doing so divided all of us. She has Nicole Ciel to some degree, and she has a world leader in her pocket. She can do almost anything she wants through Varna."

"Including kill," Ozpin shook his head. "I wish that hadn't happened."

"She wasn't trying to kill Glynda," Caitlin reminded him. "She was trying to kill Edward."

"What does it matter?" Cristal countered. "When she stopped after she killed Glynda. She was trying to make a scene, and she did so. We all fell to it, we're all damned –"

"Again," Caitlin said dryly. "A lovely thought."

Ozpin sighed. "This isn't going to be the end."

"One would hope," Caitlin muttered. "Considering that I'm too young to die."

Cristal glanced out the window at the glistening city lights.

"There's something that doesn't seem quite right about this," She eventually said. "With everything that's happened, I can't help but feel like there's something we're missing."

"I'm sure you're just worried about nothing," Cas assured her. "It's not as if we haven't been concerned about things that were really nothing before."

Cristal sighed. "Sometimes I don't even know anymore."

Cas looked to Caitlin, who was examining her nails. "You okay?"

"Just thinking," She said shortly. "That's all, I promise."

Cas nodded, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Okay."

"I do wonder where we're going with all of this sometimes," She admitted. "If we're unsure how to defeat Salem, why do we even try? At least in the other wars we fight, we know that we can win. We know how to win. This…this isn't like that."

"I know," Ozpin said, wrapping an arm gently around Cristal. "And it's been made more difficult in the last few months."

"That's understating it to the extreme," Caitlin told him. "This situation is dangerous, and it's only going to get worse. Why do you think I'm so worried? There's enough turmoil in the Atlesian Council, there's enough turmoil in the Valerian Council – our greatest ally. We may be heading for war with Vacuo…so, what then, will we have left?"

"That I cannot answer," Ozpin told her. "If I could, believe me, I would."

"I already know the answer," She informed him. "Years ago, if you'll recall, Cas and I got the Relic of Knowledge to tell us what we have to gain and what we have to lose. And she said it's everything, everything is what we have to gain but it's also what we stand to lose."

Cristal flinched a bit at the thought. "That's not a possibility I particularly want to consider."

"It's not one I want to consider either," Caitlin admitted. "But it's the truth. If we're going to keep fighting in every war, every fight that comes our way, then we should know the consequences. We know that this could kill us. We just haven't had the moxy to acknowledge it."

Cas sighed heavily. "I hate giving into the fact that you're right on this one."

"I'm not thrilled either," Caitlin sent her wife a look, conveying her confliction. "But I can't lie to myself."

"This doesn't have anything to do with the issues your family's facing, does it?" Cas gave her a comforting squeeze. "Caity, I know that it's hard, but I don't…"

"You don't understand," Caitlin said softly. "And you don't know what to say…"

Cas bit her lip. "You know me almost too well."

"Better than my parents," Caitlin said tonelessly. "They didn't have a lot of secrets, but they had enough that it tore them apart…"

"It's going to be alright," Cas promised her. "And you know they'll be happier having time to go their own ways. They've both been through a lot, more than most people ever will."

Caitlin fought back tears. "I know…"

"I was shocked by it too," Cristal admitted. "I never thought that it would end like that for them."

"Of course we didn't," Ozpin said. "They'd been through so much together –"

"But it wasn't…" Caitlin swallowed hard. "Mommy's powers as the Summer Maiden, daddy's scandal involving Jacques and dark money…"

"It'll get better," Cas swore. "And they don't hate each other."

"I know they don't hate each other, but the fact that they're splitting regardless…" Caitlin was silent for a long moment. "I don't know what to think about it, I don't know what to do, or say…"

"You don't have to do anything," Cristal told her. "You don't always have to act, you don't always have to be involved."

"She's right," Cas said gently. "Maybe we should take some time for ourselves in the next few weeks. You know, to process everything that's happened? And to recenter our own marriage. I've missed seeing you, honey, and I know you're pushing yourself to the edge."

Caitlin considered that, but then nodded.

"Alright," She eventually said. "We can do that."

"Good," Cas said, kissing her softly. "I promise, honey, that it's all going to be alright. If not for everyone else, for us. I'm not going to let anything happen."

Caitlin smiled weakly. "Alright."


	96. Chapter 96

_**January 15th**_

 _ **City Of Atlas**_

 _ **Atlas**_

 _ **Downtown**_

 _ **10:32 PM**_

"Elizabeth?" Maria Calavera stared at her niece curiously. "Are you alright? You seem a bit out of it."

Elizabeth looked up from her tea tiredly. "What?"

"You are out of it," Maria remarked, tapping her nails against her cane. "What exactly happened?"

"Nothing," Elizabeth said, crossing her arms as she leaned back against the chair. "Nothing I particularly want to talk about."

Maria raised an eyebrow. "Tell me, Elizabeth. If this has anything to do with your divorce —"

"I already —"

"Elizabeth," Maria said gently. "What's bothering you? Is it your divorce, is it the Council meetings you had earlier? What is it?"

She sighed, probing her forehead.

"It's...complicated," She eventually said. "And I don't quite know if it was a mistake or not."

Maria shook her head. "Elizabeth, I know you well and I don't think you make many mistakes."

"Really?" Elizabeth said. "After everything —"

"The things you've endured have not been your fault," Maria said sharply. "Not entirely, at the very least."

Elizabeth stared at her hands for a moment, only looking up upon hearing the door open to the sitting room.

"Ronnie," She said almost tonelessly. "Brie."

"You okay?" Brianna looked at her a bit worriedly. "You don't look well, Eliza."

"That's what I said," Maria said, knowingly as Ronnie and Brianna sat down with them. "She's being stubborn and irrationa, as alwaysl."

Elizabeth scowled. "I am a fully grown woman with adult children and a high ranking government job. I am more than capable of taking care of myself."

Maria shrugged. "What's going on with you?"

Elizabeth was silent for a long time.

"This has to do with your divorce, doesn't it?" Ronnie looked at her sympathetically. "Eliza —"

"It's not what you're thinking," She said pointedly. "But I've needed someone comforting and who will at least listen in the last few weeks."

Ronnie stared at her in confusion. "What exactly are you talking about?"

Elizabeth sighed heavily. "I...two weeks ago, I slept with James."

A silence passed over them for a time until Maria started laughing.

"Are you serious?" She asked her, attempting to calm herself as Ronnie and Brianna scowled at her. "That's incredible! I imagine that's —"

"Please don't," Elizabeth said, sending her aunt an irritated look. "I feel conflicted enough."

"You're…" Brianna stared at her and then shook her head. "You're seeing James?"

Elizabeth bit her lip. "I...I don't know if I'd say that right now."

"Does Michael know you're seeing someone else?" Brianna asked her. "I know you two split privately months ago, but…"

"No," Elizabeth said quickly. "No, I haven't said anything. Our divorce is finalized tomorrow, but it's been rough enough even though we've tried to make this process go ridiculously swiftly —"

"I don't know what I think," Brianna sighed. "I don't know what to say, and I don't...I don't know what I'd do in your position."

Ronnie took her hand in his and squeezed it lovingly. "You won't have to."

Brianna rubbed her neck. "I still can't believe what you did...but…"

"I'm trying," Ronnie said gently. "I really am, I just...I'm disgusted with myself for what I did too."

Brianna sent him a sharp look. "Ronnie —"

"I'll stop," He said, wrapping an arm tightly around her. "I'm sorry."

Elizabeth looked between them before sighing.

"Are you two done?" She asked with an eyebrow raised. "Look, I know —"

"No, no," Ronnie said. "Eliza, what are you feeling?"

She hesitated. "I, whether or not it's right, felt something with James but...but neither of us were thinking —"

"Eliza," Brianna said gently. "There's nothing wrong with what you feel —"

"Sometimes I don't even know," Elizabeth examined her nails in thought. "I'm upset with myself, because I'm the chair of the Atlesian National Security Council and a high ranking member of the DFAMA, and I'm supposed to be reasonable, and calm."

"For god's sake, Eliza!" Brianna exclaimed. "I know you make yourself unhappy in suppressing your emotions, and that's not worth it! Please don't do this to yourself!"

Elizabeth hesitated. "You think so?"

"Yes," Brianna said pleadingly. "Eliza, you know what I'm telling you."

Elizabeth bit her lip. "I know."

"Listen to us," Maria told her, sending her niece a pointed look. "I love you and you're a wonderful person, but you're hurting yourself and, frankly, the _General_."

Elizabeth turned pink. "James and I are —"

"I never thought I'd say this," Ronnie said as he pulled his wife close to him, who leaned into him, pressing a hand to her slight curve. "But I agree with Maria."

"Of course you do," The elderly woman said with a smirk. "I'm always right, Secretary Ciel."

Ronnie sighed. "Thank you, Calavera."

Maria rolled her electronic eyes and then looked to Brianna. "You're expecting, aren't you?"

Brianna hesitated, but nodded. "Yes, I'm pregnant."

"Our baby is going to be fine," Ronnie assured her. "And so will Ryan, and so will we. We're going to be okay. Things have been better with me being home the last few months, haven't they?"

Brianna sighed heavily. "I know, but —"

"All of you," Maria said sharply, glancing amongst them. "Listen to me. Giving into fear and strife ain't going to help you. You all know what they're after. Don't you dare play into their hands. We'll all be damned if you let them win. You're our leaders, some of them. Oh, the Secretary of State, the chair of the Atlesian National Security Council, and the assistant head of the Department Of Scientific Advancement And Ethnical Oversight. We want our leaders to save the day, so do it — damn it."

* * *

Natalie bit her lip as she poked her head into Spencer and Karissa's room. "Daddy?" She said. "Can we talk?"

Spencer sighed, but set his scroll down nonetheless. "Nattie —"

"I know I completely snapped earlier," She said, putting her hands up. "But I'm feeling calmer now."

Spencer stepped out into the hall, shutting the door behind himself.

"Nattie," Spencer said gently as they walked. "Seeing that you've been cutting again —"

"Oh, come on!" Natalie exclaimed. "How can you —"

"I have my own issues, but —"

"What's going on now?" Matt asked as he came into the main room where Spencer and Natalie were arguing. "And when's mom going to be home?"

"Soon —" Spencer started tiredly.

"She's not our mom!" Natalie scowled at her brother. "She's just Karissa —"

"She's been our mom," Matt said, matching her scowl. "Especially since our biological mother died. And she's a good person, and she loves dad —"

"Can you stop it?" Spencer looked between them, probing his forehead as his anxiety rose. "There's enough going on as it is, and I can't take this on top of all of my other worries!"

Natalie and Matthew both went silent.

"Sorry," Matt said, awkwardly biting his lip. "I shouldn't have —"

"I'm not talking to you," Spencer said. "I meant Nattie."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "I'm in a bad enough state that I don't even care."

A heavy silence passed over them for several minutes until the door opened and Karissa stepped into the condominium. Sighing heavily, she adjusted her computer bag on her shoulder and then set it down, pulling off her fur coat and hanging it up shortly after. Twisting her azure curls in her hands, she raised an eyebrow and then shook her head.

"You okay, Spence?" She looked to him, noticing the consternation in his face. "What exactly happened?"

"You," Natalie said with a shrug. "You've got your good qualities, and I trust you...but not as a family member. More like as a therapist in a position of power."

Karissa stared at her for a moment and then sighed.

"Natalie," She said. "I know."

She shook her head and then left the room, knowing she had snapped again.

"I…" Matt bit his lip awkwardly. "I'll...um...let you two talk. FYI, mom, I can watch Luna this weekend if you and dad wanna go out. Since you asked earlier."

Karissa rubbed her neck tiredly. "Alright, thanks, Matt."

Spencer bit his lip as his son left the room. "Sorry, 'Rissa, I know it stresses you out when —"

"Spence," Karissa said, embracing him tightly. "You don't have to try and make everything perfect."

He sighed. "I've been difficult enough to love, I don't want you to have to worry too much —"

"Spence," Karissa said sharply. "I adore you —"

"Karissa Adeline Mar —"

"Spencer Johnathan Ciel —"

"I —"

"Sweetheart," She said, resting her head against his chest. "Don't upset yourself more; I know you're worried enough."

Spencer glanced to the unopened box on the counter, which he knew contained OxyContin.

"I'm a terrible person," He said dejectedly. "I love you, I love our kids, but I'm not a good person."

Karissa looked at him worriedly. "Spence, we have another therapy session tomorrow with Dr. Scott. Please talk about this, I know your mental health has declined —"

"'Rissa —"

"Spence," Karissa said as he pulled her closer to him. "You're severely depressed —"

"I know that —"

"And you can't ignore and hide from that," She said, kissing his lips softly. "Spencer, I love you, and I can't bear to watch you suffer anymore than you can watch me in the same position."

Spencer stared at her for a moment, then rubbing her back.

"I love you," He said quietly. "I love you so much…"

"I love you too," She replied softly. "I just hope things will turn out alright."

"I do too," He admitted. "Especially because we've been through enough recently."

Karissa shook her head as they stepped down the hall towards their bedroom.

"Your father's less concerned about his life and more concerned about ours," She eventually said. "He keeps telling me, Emmeline, and Ronnie to not worry about him. I don't know if he's trying to distance himself from his emotions, but there's something about what he said regarding Ozpin that worries me."

Spencer raised an eyebrow. "What did he say?"

"That Oz has a plan, but hasn't acted out of fear," She shook her head. "I'm not too surprised, but it still bothers me."

"That…" Spencer sighed. "Do you really think that's true?"

Karissa nodded. "I'm going to force the truth out of Oz as soon as I can, but I really hope Edward's wrong."

Spencer quietly closed the door behind them. "With so much in the balance, I understand that."

"We have spent _years_ fighting this war," Karissa said as she sat down tiredly on the edge of their bed. "And if that really has been in vain — if we've lost family and friends to this when we didn't have to...that's a possibility I don't want to contemplate. If Ozpin genuinely has a working plan, then I am going to get him to enact it. We can't live our lives filled with fear, we just can't."

Spencer sat down beside his wife of nearly eight years and embraced her tightly.

"This is why I need you," He said softly, his shaggy dark hair hanging over his eyes. "You are everything I can't be, and you're so beautiful...you know me, 'Rissa, and you've helped me live. There's nothing more important than that, to me."

Karissa stared at him for a moment, then brushing his bangs away from his eyes. "Spence…"

"I know I'm a mess," He said. "But I'm trying to be better."

"I'm just glad that you're alive," Karissa curled tightly into him. "Honestly, the fact that we're alright is enough."

Spencer stared at her. "You really think so?"

"Yes," She said. "Things have been alright, haven't they?"

Spencer considered that.

" _How were your meetings?" He had asked his wife as she tiredly sipped her tea. "My sister said she was pissed with several people after hers, and Emmett swore he spent over an hour trying to talk her down from her annoyance."_

 _Karissa had sighed. "Well, it was better than some have been but we're still in a difficult position with the riots in Argus."_

 _He had shaken his head. "Sometimes I wonder if we're ever going to learn from our mistakes. If we fight in every battle that comes our way, when do we stop? I'd never go back on us beginning nd continuing to fight the war on terror, but our lives and society will never be the same."_

 _Karissa had run her fingers through her azure curls, then resting a hand on her noticible curve. "I don't know what our daughter's world is going to look like, and that scares me. If we're uncertain about our own lives…"_

" _I know," Spencer had said, leaning over to rest his head on her shoulder. "Three months from now, when she's born, things could be much better or much worse."_

" _Are we horrible, selfish people for having a baby in a time like this?" She had shaken her head. "I love her already, but —"_

" _I worry too," Spencer had admitted. "And I have no idea what to do with any of it…"_

 _Indeed, months later, much of the world felt to be in the balance. People, quite a great many, felt they had entered a time of peace. But there were others who saw more, and the fragile nature of what we call peace is something that they felt on their shoulders and, to an extent, in their hands. Spencer had held his newborn daughter in his arms while Karissa had read over reports. Just over a month had passed since Luna Karissa Ciel had been born, and there was hope. Yet, there was also a genuine fear._

"' _Rissa," Spencer had said as she set aside her scroll. "How are you feeling?"_

 _She had hesitated, looking to him and then their daughter. "I don't know," She had admitted. "There's something lingering in the back of all of our minds now as we've continued to tighten everything in the nation...questions and...something heavy."_

 _Spencer had squeezed her shoulder lovingly although also with immense concern. "What are we even preparing to fight?"_

 _Karissa had sighed. "I don't think any of us honestly know…"_

"You're right," He eventually said. "We've had to fight for it, but we're alive."

Karissa nodded. "I've been saying that all along."

He smiled and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "Maybe it's alright if we take a step back and wait for it...maybe we already have what we need…"

* * *

"Qrow…" James started, feeling both irritated and exhausted. "Please don't."

"Why are you being so evasive?" He asked. "I was just wondering if you thought Lizzie was taking this whole thing a bit too personally."

"You shouldn't have told her that it's not a big deal she's getting divorced because she's the one that filed," James said defensively. "You knew it was going to upset her —"

"And I don't see why you care so much," Qrow shrugged. "Look, what I said may have been a little harsh, but she shouldn't have snapped at me first —"

"She's never liked you very much," James reminded him. "The least you could do would be to be cognisant of that."

Cristal snorted. "Qrow, be cognisant of anything? Oh, please."

Qrow glared. "You're a real bitch sometimes, Cristal."

She rolled her eyes as she curled into Ozpin. "I'm your aunt-in-law, shut up."

"Hey," Qrow said, taking a swig from his flask. "You're younger than me, Schnee —"

"Oh, for god's sake!" Winter groaned as she stepped into the room. "Please don't be a dick, Qrow."

"If Cristal stops being a bitch, then sure," He smirked slightly as he turned back to James. "So, what's your deal with Elizabeth?"

"Qrow!" Winter said sharply. "I know you and Madame Morell have...issues —"

"That may be putting it too lightly," Ozpin said, sharing a knowing look with his wife, who smiled smugly. "Considering the time and energy they waste fighting each other."

Qrow scowled but said nothing, knowing that was true.

Winter sighed. "Doesn't make it any better."

Qrow sent the General a pointed look. "Is something going on between you and Elizabeth?"

James buried his face in his hands. "Qrow…"

"I'm curious now," Cristal remarked, adjusting her glasses as she spoke. "Eliza and I are close, and she's been only a little less evasive on this subject than you."

He sighed heavily. "It's a...complicated matter to say the least."

Cristal shrugged. "You act as if we're not all very used to complicated."

"I know that," James said, then shaking his head. "I just don't know what to do with us having slept together."

Cristal raised an eyebrow in complete surprise. "You had sex with her?"

James groaned, mostly out of embarrassment and partially out of confliction. "Yes, Elizabeth and I...did things that I still am trying to analyse and rationalise."

Cristal sent him a sympathetic look. "I'm sure that's a mess."

James was silent, trying to think.

"Wow…" Qrow said. "Of all people, you have something for Elizabeth Morell."

"We weren't thinking as much as we should have been," James said as Winter elbowed her husband. "But it felt...oddly...right."

Cristal considered that. "Do you love her?"

"I don't know," James admitted. "And that's part of why I feel so damn conflicted. The other part of it is that I...I can't stop thinking about Glynda even though I know she's gone."

Cristal bit her lip. "I don't think any of us can."

Ozpin gave his wife a reassuring squeeze. "I agree. This isn't something that will leave us any time soon."

"Is it wrong that I liked it so much?" James looked to Cristal. "You know Eliza better than any of us. Has she said anything to you?"

Cristal hesitated. "Yes...although mostly in confidence."

James went silent.

"But," Cristal said slowly. "She did say that she felt better with you than she had in a long time."

James stared at her. "You're joking."

"No, I'm not," Cristal sent him a sympathetic look. "James, if you do get into this, you're going to want to take it slow, but…"

James raised an eyebrow. "But what?"

"Are you kidding?" Qrow asked, half-incredulous. "You already slept with her and it sounds like you both liked it. What are you waiting for?"

"The right time," James said, pressing his forehead against his hand. "I don't want to have this turn to hell because I'm being stupid. I still am conflicted by my own feelings, let alone unsure of hers. Maybe I should just wait awhile and keep things slow…"

"James," Qrow said with surprising sympathy. "It's ultimately your choice between you and Elizabeth, but I hope that you know that you're not going to be able to always get something when you try and wait for it. It's not as if hesitation will get us anywhere."


	97. Chapter 97

_**January 23rd**_

 _ **City Of Atlas**_

 _ **Atlas**_

 _ **Downtown**_

 _ **7:37 PM**_

"Ozpin," Karissa said, sending him a sharp look as she sat down. "I know you have a plan."

"Karissa," Cristal said tiredly. "You know we've been trying to figure things out –"

"He already has figured things out," Karissa said irritably. "According to Edward, anyways. Apparently, Ozpin does have a plan, but he hasn't acted out of fear."

Ozpin shifted uncomfortably, adjusting his glasses. "Karissa, please understand –"

"Understand what?" She snapped. "The fact that you've been leading us down a path all along that you don't actually want to follow? What are you so scared of?"

"The same things that you are," He finally said, matching her tone. "Losing my daughter, my wife. I have things I'm afraid of losing too, and I don't always know if I can stand against Salem –"

"We're all scared," Karissa told him. "But you're acting ridiculous."

Cristal placed a hand on his shoulder. "Oz, is that really why you haven't said anything?"

He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "Chrissy, after everything, I don't want to lose you."

Cristal sighed. "I'm not saying I have to fight, but if we can get this over with –"

He was silent for a long moment. "I know…"

Cristal looked to him in concern. "Oz –"

"Chrissy –" He started.

"If we can end this…" She said a bit hesitantly. "Then I think we have to. We can't just keep waiting around for the right moment."

"Thank you," Karissa said, feeling slightly exasperated with Ozpin. "Oz, please listen to Chrissy, she knows what she's talking about and you clearly don't."

"You're underestimating Salem, Karissa," Ozpin told her. "She's more dangerous, more powerful than you know –"

"And you are being nothing more or less than a coward!" Karissa exclaimed. "How can you constantly talk about how we have to end this war, how we can't let more people die, when you don't even want to fight anymore?"

Ozpin was silent, unable to respond.

"Karissa," Cristal eventually said. "How did you even find out about this from Edward?"

"He is my father in law," Karissa hesitated. "And he told me because he thought Spencer should know before sending Natalie to Beacon in March."

"That sounds like him," Cristal sighed. "I don't like this either, and I'm scared about where things might be going."

"All of us are," Ozpin gave her a reassuring squeeze. "And, believe me, I'm not sure if I'll ever be truly ready to act."

"I've worked in politics for a long time," Karissa said slowly. "And there have been things that we've said we were going to do that took far too long, but we've always had to do something. Sheer nerve and will can be enough."

"Against Salem?" Ozpin considered that. "Salem is one of the most powerful, the most dangerous, the most –"

"And you have every reason to be afraid of her," Karissa said calmly. "Especially with your…history. But that doesn't mean that we're doing ourselves any good by trying to live the rest of our lives filled with fear. If we can defeat her –"

"And I think we can –"

"Then we can focus on the other problems we're dealing with," Karissa paused for a brief moment. "But the fact remains that we're never going to really be able to see peace. Salem isn't the entire reason we have to deal with Varna, for example."

"Varna's…" Cristal clenched her fists. "That bitch."

"She does need to pay for her crimes," Karissa twisted her azure curls in her hands a bit nervously. "But, at the moment, we're not able to bring her to that."

"Why not?" Ozpin asked her. "If it's because she's the prime minister of Vacuo –"

"Whether we like it or not, whether we agree with their foreign policy or not, we cannot cut off Vacuo," Karissa reminded him. "We've put harsh restrictions on Varna herself that will keep her out of the kingdom and will force all negotiations with the kingdom to be on our terms rather than hers, but we cannot cut them off. They're one of our biggest trading partners, and that's in large part because of Dust – something that your wife can tell you all about."

Cristal shifted a bit uncomfortably.

"Well," She eventually said. "Yes, that's true. I'm not too happy about it, and we do have a lot of Dust mining up in the northern parts of the kingdom where there are accessible deposits, but the greatest and most prosperous deposits are in Vacuo."

Ozpin sighed. "Chrissy –"

"Oz, we've talked about this before and I'd rather not get into it again," She said tiredly. "I'm not any happier with some of our more questionable partnerships than you are, but we need them. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made in business."

"I know that," Ozpin said. "But it doesn't –"

"If you think politics is any better, your wrong," Karissa warned him. "Believe me, in so many ways, the Atlesian Council is more corrupt in places than the SDC ever has been – even under Jacques."

"Karissa –" Ozpin started.

"I'm completely serious," She told him. "There is nothing about the Atlas Council that makes it a good solution for dealing with issues like this face on. We've done what we can, and if we do any more then we're damning our own interests."

Ozpin bit his lip. "Karissa, how can you be so calm about this?"

"Because if I'm not then I can't effectively lead," She snapped. "I have more than a few feelings on this matter that are quite angered, quite extreme, and yet I keep them silent most of the time because I know better than to let people like Varna manipulate me to play into their hands."

Ozpin stared at her for a moment and then shook his head. "Karissa, do you really think that?"

She sighed. "I prefer to act, I prefer not to sit down, but there are times when it's not up to me. This is one of those times. In the end, it comes down to the entire upper DFAMA, the security council, the legislature, and presidential approval. And…we've decided not to act. I'm not happy about it, but I can't do anything about it."

Ozpin considered that.

"Oz," Cristal said, curling into him. "She's right…"

"I know," He said, holding her close. "But –"

"We have to do something," Karissa told him. "But it's not going to be through the Council. It just can't be."

Ozpin hesitated for a second. "We'll start this plan as soon as possible."

"Alright," Karissa said, feeling a bit tense. "And, hopefully, things will go the way we think they will."

"And if they don't?" Cristal asked her. "What then?"

"We'll all be damned," Karissa sighed heavily. "I just hope we don't lose anyone else. We've lost enough people already. How many more people are going to have to die because of this?"

"I don't know," Ozpin admitted. "But I agree that I hope it's no one else."

"We've already lost Glynda," Cristal said, her voice breaking a bit in spite of herself. "Who knows who might be next…"

* * *

"Miss Belladonna," Kiara all but smirked as she looked to the woman across from her. "I'm sorry we've been…unable to have discussions regarding your provision of information to the Council. I'm sure this has been frustrating for you."

Blake smiled tightly. "No more frustrating than things have been for you, Madame Davis."

Kiara narrowed her eyes. "I beg your pardon?"

"With all of the scandals surrounding you, the Ciel family, the Morells, and Schnees," Blake elaborated, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "Which I'm sure have been no better for you to handle than it has been for them."

Kiara forced herself to remain calm and not show her immense irritation with the woman.

"I forgot," She said tersely. "How perceptive you are. Sometimes, even, I forget that you're not even Atlesian yourself."

Blake flinched a bit upon her words. "You honestly forget that I'm not Atlesian?"

"It's not hard," Kiara informed her. "You certainly act as if you are, and your accent has always been so polished that it blends within the kingdom. Even your file, minus the acts of terrorism and violence –"

"Which I have put in my past –"

"Something I seriously hope to be true –"

"I am thoroughly disgusted with what I did," Blake informed her. "And I've tried my damndest to make that clear, but you don't seem to believe me –"

"Because you present us with no reasonable, solid evidence," Kiara replied smoothly. "And if you would simply, to use your jargon, 'cut to the chase' and –"

"I can't," Blake said, beginning to feel sick. "I can't without selling people out that I care about and are good people that I know you are just going to go after for some vengeful reason involving Atlas' war on terror."

"It's the right fight," Kiara said coldly. "And you are legally bound to tell us everything you know lest you face true retribution for your crimes."

Blake swallowed hard.

"It may be the right fight," She told her, her hands shaking. "But it's for all of the wrong reasons."

Kiara leaned back slightly in her desk chair, eyeing the woman curiously.

"There's something about you that I will never quite understand," She eventually said. "And, as much as I want to help you, I can't if you're resistant to upholding your end of the deal. Things work in give and take in Atlas, Miss Belladonna. I know that in Menagerie you can act and take what you please when you please it, but that is not how things work here in Atlas. We are much more stringent about enforcing our laws, and we are much more bureaucratic."

"So I noticed," Blake said dryly. "And, before Adam took over Menagerie, my parents were ruling perfectly fairly."

"Atlas doesn't uphold dictators," Kiara told her sharply. "Which your parents were."

"Ironic you say that," Blake said darkly. "And hypocritical, considering the fact that you've done nothing about Varna beyond restricting her travel. You won't help the people of Vacuo because it's not in your interest."

Kiara took in a sharp breath. "I beg your pardon?"

"You know what I'm talking about," Blake said, then sighing heavily. "I wish things weren't the way they are, but it doesn't seem like there's much of a way out."

"You continue to equivocate," Kiara noted. "But, tell me Blake, are you really going to tell me everything you know?"

She hesitated but then nodded, her thoughts turning to her wife.

"Yes," She said, thinking of Yang and what imprisonment would do to her. "I…I'll uphold my end of the deal."

Kiara nodded. "Let us begin."

The tension in the room was something that was all but palpable, a feeling which had become rather common in the last several months. Everything was being pulled in so many directions, and the each of the kingdoms seemed to be pulsing with its tension even more than ever. Scandals in Atlas were only the surface. The tension was further below. In the end, it would come down to the mercy of the leaders of the kingdoms. It was well acknowledged that Atlas and Vale were the best equipped to deal with a crisis; both kingdoms had the institutions and power in place to be able to withstand the war beneath the surface. But that did not mean there were parts of all of the kingdoms that felt that they were beginning to more than just unravel. It was not just Varna, it was not just the focus of Atlas upon its interests. There was something more. There was so much lying beneath the fear, the suspicion, and the doubt. And it was more than dangerous. The turmoil in Vacuo was a testament to the extremes of that.

"Rosalinde Varna…" Arthur Watts smirked as he stepped into the prime minister's office and the woman scowled at him, her violet eyes holding a dangerous spark. "I must say, I have been enjoying my freedom."

"I'm sure you have," Varna said curtly, looking over reports. "Seems like Atlas is more than willing to do everything except assassinate me."

Watts snorted. "Be glad they have no desire to assassinate you."

"They have their interests," She said with a faint smirk. "The Dust deposits in this kingdom require approval from my Council, and none of them have any power without me. Atlas isn't going to do anything beyond restrict me personally, because they know they need this kingdom's Dust. I may very well be the single most powerful person in the world right now."

Watts rolled his eyes. "Your arrogance is disturbing."

"My arrogance is justified," She replied. "Edward Ciel –"

"Is the most powerful person in the world, after Salem," Watts went on despite Varna scoffing at the thought. "You may deny that as you wish, but the kingdom of Atlas, despite my hatred for some of the leadership, has the most power in the world. They are the sole superpower, and it is largely because of their military. Do what you will in your…games…but if the kingdom of Atlas decides that it wants you dead, then, believe me, they will find a way to do that and justify it."

Varna ripped open her desk drawer and pulled her spell book out threateningly.

"I swear to god," She said, flipping through the book for a tongue-tying curse. "If you continue to go out of your way to piss me off, I will curse you so many times over –"

"This isn't just about Atlas, is it?" Watts said, his classic smirk upon his face as he stepped towards her, more than ready to upset her as much as possible. "I know you're still in love with Ozpin."

Varna tensed, her hand hovering over an extreme curse to remove his tongue entirely.

"Excuse me?" She said, her voice deadly low. "I don't think you understand."

"He'll never love you," Watts told her. "And you have got to know that he never has. He's always thought of you as a bit of an outsider, as vengeful, as dangerous –"

"Which I am!" She snapped. "But he is too –"

"The opposite," Watts said, beginning to laugh. "Rosalinde, you know that at the end of the day that you are after nothing but pure power. Your father taught you no less."

Varna reached to strangle him but paused in the action.

"Coward," Watts remarked. "You're still afraid of becoming him, aren't you?"

"My father…" Varna said through gritted teeth. "Was the brother god of Darkness. You know that, all of us do. But Ozpin's group doesn't. I'm not going to reveal the source of my powers, because it's damning. This world isn't even quite how we see it."

"That much is clear," Watts said, then shaking his head. "But, then, what is?"

"Well," Varna said, tapping her fingers against her spell book. "You haven't even seen the worst of it yet, let alone the worst of me."

* * *

"Emmett…Brianna," Edward said a bit awkwardly. "I didn't realize the two of you would be here as well."

"Dad," Emmeline said in slight exasperation. "I know things have been rough –"

"Emmeline –" Edward started.

"What's so bad about me?" Emmett questioned as he sipped his coffee and wrapped an arm around his wife. "I love her, after all."

Edward sighed. "Emmett, I know that and I respect that a great deal. The issue I have with you is your flamboyance."

"That may be an understatement," Spencer remarked, laughing a bit in spite of himself. "'Rissa and I might be a bit of that ourselves –"

"With your furs –" Emmeline remarked with a smirk.

"But we're nowhere near Emmett's level," Spencer ran a hand through his shaggy dark hair. "You win, Emmett."

Emmett lifted his coffee mug slightly in faux toast. "I am a Schnee."

"That's what I'm talking about," Edward said, gesturing towards his son-in-law. "I would never go back on having you in the family because you're a genuinely good human being, but you are obnoxious about yourself to say the least."

Emmett shrugged. "What do you think, Emmy?"

"I think," She said, sending him a sharp look. "That you shouldn't be drinking coffee past two in the afternoon and that it's basically a sin in this family."

Spencer rolled his eyes. "That's not our biggest problem."

Emmeline sighed. "If only."

"So," Ronnie said nervously as Brianna hesitantly took his hand in hers. "What exactly is going on?"

Edward was silent for a long moment before pulling out his scroll.

"Adam Taurus," He finally said. "You'll all hear about this formally soon enough, apart from Emmett and Spencer, but you all have a right to know. Spencer because it affects his wife, and Emmett for the same reason as well as its relation to his company."

Emmett raised an eyebrow. "That's dangerously cryptic."

"We have received disturbing intelligence that suggests Taurus is moving…forces of his from Menagerie to Atlas," Edward nervously adjusted his bowler hat as he went on. "And he fully intends to increase his acts of quote un quote defiance against Atlas in order to, in his words based upon his communications, topple the sole superpower left."

Emmeline tensed, her nails digging into her knee even as Emmett placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I'm going to kill him," She said darkly. "He can't –"

"Emmeline," Ciel said as calmly as he could. "Please do not let your temper get to you right now."

"Alright," She said. "Then what exactly do we know?"

Ciel looked through the information before sighing heavily.

"We know that he's planning to smuggle people in as early as next week," He eventually said. "We know that he intends for bombings in major cities, that he is planning for Dust robberies, and he intends to convince as many faunus in Atlas as possible to turn their guns on everyone else. He wants mass shootings, he wants violence, he wants to provoke the kingdom into sheer fear so that we will tear ourselves apart."

"Do we have any specific intelligence beyond that?" Ronnie asked him. "Is there anything that the DFAMA or State Department can do?"

"I cannot answer for your department or Karissa's," Edward said. "However, I imagine in the next few days and weeks that something will arise from both departments."

"The security council has been worried that something like this might happen," Emmeline said slowly. "And I'm afraid this means that we need information from Blake Belladonna even more than ever."

"She hasn't wanted to give up much, though," Brianna reminded her, feeling a bit sick. "And I know that Kiara's reports have been through –"

"Brie," Spencer said, sending his sister-in-law a sympathetic look. "You know you don't have to read those reports if you don't want to, especially since you're not submitting official ethics analysis on it."

"I feel duty bound to," Brianna told him, staring at her hands. "I cannot let my life, or my emotions influence anything I do."

"That's not healthy," Emmeline warned her. "The longer you keep hiding from your emotions, the more likely it is that they're going to break you –"

"Well, what the hell am I supposed to do?" Brianna snapped. "How can I survive in a world like this if I don't conceal my emotions and refuse to acknowledge them –"

"That's not living," Spencer told her. "I've lost hours, days, possibly even years of my life because of my addiction – and a large part of what caused me to fall into it had to do with what you're talking about."

Brianna stared at him. "You're joking."

Spencer bit his lip as he pulled off his coat to reveal his injection scars.

"Some of those are only from a few months ago," He said, feeling sick at the thought. "And 'Rissa and I have been through a lot just dealing with the fact that I've had trouble with the pills recently –"

"Oh, god…" Brianna said, grimacing. "Spencer, please…"

"You know what I'm saying," He said, wrapping his fur coat tightly around himself once more. "Surviving isn't living…just like freedom isn't free."

Brianna hung her head, anxiously pressing a hand to her curve.

"Brie," Ronnie said as he hesitantly wrapped an arm around her. "I know you're worried about the family and yourself and the baby –"

"What are we even doing?" She exclaimed, burying her face in her hands. "How can we have let everything become like this? We are nothing but horrible, selfish people, aren't we?"

A nervous silence hung over them, the lack of words carrying the most weight in the world.

"She's right," Emmett eventually said. "What are we even doing?"

"Everything we can," Emmeline said with conviction, resting her head on his shoulder. "Emmett, it's going to be alright."

"We're still playing with fire," Edward sharply reminded her. "And, in every sense, this is a dangerous, dangerous game."


	98. Chapter 98

_**February 6th**_

 _ **City Of Atlas**_

 _ **Atlas**_

 _ **Downtown**_

 _ **11:23 PM**_

Elizabeth rested her head on James' chest as she curled into him. "Maybe this is right…"

"It certainly feels like it," He said, reaching over with his natural hand to run his fingers through her thick, dark hair. "God, I really hope it is…"

She let her fingertips ever so lightly brush over long sleeves of his shirt. "How are you feeling?"

"About earlier?" James sighed. "Eliza, I –"

"You didn't hurt me," She said softly. "Really, James. I know this is difficult for us, but you've never hurt me, and I can't see you doing so."

"I hadn't noticed that scar before…" He said, then kissing her forehead. "I can see why you don't want her to ever go free, beside all of the other reasons."

"Everyone in this kingdom has some sort of reason, aside from a few…select groups, to not want her free," Elizabeth said, feeling a bit sick as she recalled the woman's smirk from a few months prior in the hearing. "But, after everything…"

"Eliza," James said gently. "I don't think that you're vengeful in the slightest."

She stared at him, her brown eyes wide. "You honestly believe that?"

"Qrow can think that you're vengeful all he wants, but he doesn't understand," James comfortingly pressed his gloved, cybernetic hand against her back. "He never has, and we all know that. He's never understood Atlas, and it's not as if he hasn't made it very clear that he has quite a bit against you personally."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "He has more than 'quite a bit' against me. He hates me, and we all know it. Winter is the only reason he stays in line, and I am more than grateful for that."

James could not help but laugh a little. "We all are."

"He's a dick," Elizabeth said. "And he refuses to listen to reason because he'll blindly believe anything that Oz tells him even though, as we found out just the other day, even Oz doesn't want to act because he's afraid of losing everything."

"It's more than just that," James said. "He's so convinced that he's a curse that he feels that if none of this means anything that he's worthless, that he always has been and always will be a curse."

"And yet he attacks Spencer?" Elizabeth scowled for a moment, then sighing. "Spence has his issues, and he's afraid of a lot, and he has so much to worry about, but he at least tries. He at least doesn't make Karissa's life so much harder just by being. No, the difference is that Qrow thinks his best chance is to lie and wait when it's just not."

James held her close to him, still trying to set aside the thoughts of the woman he had last been here with, the woman that he would never see again.

"Eliza," He said quietly. "Does it bother you that I'm still struggling to move on?"

She was silent for a long moment but then shook her head.

"You know I am too," She said as he began to rub her back. "And I love you, but I don't want things to end badly for us because we were going too fast."

"I don't want that either," He said. "Do you think it's always going to be complicated between us?"

"I hope not," She murmured. "I don't want it to be like things were with me and Michael, what with him being gone all the time and there being so much between us that was never said that really should have been."

"I'm not going to do that to you," James promised her. "Eliza, I want you to be happy."

"I love you," She whispered. "I really do."

"I love you too," James said, hesitating for a moment and then pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "Eliza…"

"Yes?" She said, looking up for a moment. "James?"

"I know we're not quite sure where everything is going to end up…" He trailed off for a second. "But I'm going to do everything I can to make sure this ends up alright. I know it's…"

"I don't want to worry about that right now," She said. "I really don't."

James nodded. "Alright."

"This feels natural…" She said quietly. "James –"

"I'd never noticed how pale you are before," He said, and she started laughing a bit. "But your little faint freckles really do highlight it."

Elizabeth smiled a bit. "James –"

"You're beautiful," He said as he held her only closer to him. "I think I'm only noticing it now because you're normally so high strung and stressed."

Elizabeth sighed. "With the way things are, I can't imagine that getting much better…"

"I'll try and help as best I can," James said. "I promise, Eliza."

She smiled softly. "I know…"

* * *

Adam smirked to himself as stepped off of his transport and into the kingdom of Atlas. "Well," He said, glancing to one of his guards through his mask. "It seems that going in through the barely inhabited, northernmost part of the kingdom, has worked out well for us. At the very least, the Council is assuming that we're coming in much, much further south."

A haughty, derisive snort was heard as a small woman and a tall man stepped out from a nearby bullhead.

"Yeah," She said. "They are assuming that you're coming in much further south."

Adam turned quickly on his heel, his eyes narrowing behind his mask upon seeing the pair.

"Nicole Ciel and Roman Torchwick," He laughed dryly. "You two have gone soft, haven't you? Trying to get your father's favor, Nicki?"

Neo pressed the tip of her umbrella into the snow and leaned on it as she sent him a dark look. "Actually, Roman was looking for revenge on you."

Adam gestured to himself in mock surprise. "Revenge on me? What for?"

"You know what for," Roman said irritably. "Getting me thrown in jail, for one."

"Both of us ended up behind bars, eventually," Adam shook his head. "Do either of you know what you're messing with? I'm not someone that only a few take seriously now – I'm the high leader of Menagerie."

"And yet you had to murder god knows how many people for that position," Neo rolled her eyes as she looked to Roman. "How much blood is on his hands again?"

"Far more than is on ours," He replied, then turning to Taurus. "You've always been crazy."

"I'm far from crazy," Adam informed him. "If I were, I wouldn't be able to run Menagerie."

"You're not running Menagerie," Neo restrained herself from bursting out into semi-sarcastic laughter despite her anxiety. "You're preparing to terrorize Atlas."

"Statements we've tried to make in the past haven't worked," Adam said, taking a step towards her and motioning for his guards to stay back even as he tossed them his weapons. "And it's time that we prove to them that we're not going to play games."

"So instead you're going to murder innocent people," Neo tossed her hair back over her shoulders, forcing herself not to shiver in the cold. "You have no idea just how low you've sunk."

"Really, lecturing me?" Adam slapped her, then catching Torchwick's cane before it could strike him. "I see you care quite a bit about your wife."

"You've done horrible, disgusting things to her in the past," Roman snapped, pulling Neo tightly into him and she could not help but be silently relieved in the moment. "I have every reason to kill you."

"We play by different rules than your kingdom," Adam noted. "But I'm sure that they'd be more than willing to lock you both up again if you committed murder."

"If it were you?" Neo exclaimed. "They'd probably clear our names!"

"You can't get everything you want through killing your enemies," Adam told her. "I've had to learn that, and I'm in an even better place than I was before. Who do you even think you are?"

Neo swallowed hard, unsure if she was going to be able to force herself to speak much more with all of the emotions that she felt were flooding her, attempting to drown her.

"Neopolitan Nicole Ciel-Torchwick," She said, her voice shaking. "And you're a monster."

Adam smirked. "And I think you know that you can still rely on being daddy's little girl."

Neo wrenched out of Roman's arms and, with the aid of a summoned illusion, swiftly pulled her sword out of her umbrella and forced Adam to the ground, the sharp tip of her sword hovering just above the center of his throat.

"If you think that I don't have every reason to kill you or that…that Belladonna woman after what you did to me!" Neo shrieked. "Then you don't know who you're messing with, you don't know the forces you've unleashed."

Adam scowled and snapped his fingers although his guard did not move.

"What are you cowards waiting for?" He yelled. "I –"

"Move and I'll stab you clean through," Neo slammed her stiletto heeled boot into his chest, causing him to let out a cry of pain as his aura flashed over him. "Aura can't protect you if I stab you through the heart."

Adam glared at her, refusing to take the risk of her making a clean stab.

"You had me in a position just like this a little over ten years ago, just about," Neo said, a catch in her voice as the memories continued to rush back. "And we both know exactly what you did to me and what you had that woman do to me."

"You were, and still are, President Ciel's daughter," Adam said with a faint smirk regardless of the situation. "And that more than enabled us to make a statement. No one is safe, and no one is ever going to be safe. The Schnees weren't…and neither could the Ciels."

"Neo…" Roman said as the Adam's guards slowly began to walk towards them with guns raised. "We should go –"

"Wait," She said, pressing the blade against Adam but without enough force to cut him. "The agonizing cuts into my skin and scalp, the beating, the pain that was so relentless that even after the two of you had long since disappeared that I thought I would die. My aura hadn't broken, but you were able to leave physical, permanent scars, nonetheless."

Adam sneered. "No less than you deserved."

Neo clenched her hand tighter around her sword. "That minimal aura left…it kept me alive through the night with the illusions I summoned to keep me hidden from the grimm. I slept…dreamless but it was an illusion just as much as the one I had summoned…and yet, here you are, trying to beg me for mercy when you never would give it to me. Why should I let you go now?"

Adam noticed his guards coming out of the corner of his eyes, but still not that Roman had been recording everything on his scroll.

"Because I will spend the rest of my life trying to kill you," Adam snapped. "Because I want nothing more, or less, than to personally kill and destroy every single member of your family. None of you are going to be safe – no one is ever going to be safe in Atlas again –"

"Neo –" Roman yelled, starting towards the bullhead.

She summoned an illusion wall just quickly enough for the bullets to hit the illusion and not her. Angrily leaning down, she grabbed Adam's mask and ripped it off his face – giving him no ability to hide. She stared at it for a moment in shock before stabbing him harshly enough through the arm for blood to begin to pool from it. As he reached to grab her leg, she kicked him in the nose and then slammed her sword back into her umbrella and ran. The door of the bullhead shut almost as soon as she was on it; her hand slammed into the wall to force it to close before she ran towards the cockpit with pure adrenaline and anxiety running through her. Even with Taurus and his guards shooting at them, they were off the ground in a matter of seconds and, a minute later, were gone. It was not until he was able to auto direct the bullhead to fly to the capital that he reached over and placed a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Neo, we got what we needed," Roman said gently, taking off his hat and affectionately placing it on her head as he reached for a cigar. "I promise, he's not going to have any plausible deniability. He'll be found, and he's never going to see the light of day again."

"Not all of this is good for us," She said, biting at her lip. "What if this ends up –"

"It'll be fine," Roman told her. "You believe me, don't you?"

Neo hesitated for a moment, but then nodded. "Of course I do…"

* * *

Caitlin Ciel buried her face in her hands. "Why is it that time seems to have disappeared…"

Cas sighed. "Sweetheart, stop trying to keep yourself awake."

Caitlin scowled subtly and reached for her tea. "I have things I need to do –"

"We all have things we need to do!" Cas exclaimed in exasperation. "But you're not helping yourself one bit by acting like this."

"Oh, really?" Caitlin gestured to the overflowing file beside her. "I have to pour through days' worth of information in order to construct six different case files –"

"And I know that," Cas said. "But you're going to make yourself sick. Do I need to call your mother and make her tell you to take of yourself? I'm your wife, for god's sake, you should listen to me on this!"

Caitlin went silent, then reaching over to shut her laptop.

"Alright," She said a bit dejectedly. "I'll stop and tell Madame Davis that all of these case files are only half-written and/or updated because I've only been half-alive from the start."

Cas giggled a bit in spite of herself. "I'm glad you've still retained your sense of humor."

"Aren't we all?" Caitlin hesitated for a moment. "Your dad called earlier, by the way. Said if you don't call soon that he's going to assume something's wrong."

Cas at her lip as she adjusted her glasses.

"You know why I've been trying to avoid serious conversation with the family," She finally said. "With everything that's happened –"

"I know," Caitlin said tiredly. "And we're still dealing with some of the aftermath of the Vytal Festival –"

"The end of that was a disaster," Cas muttered. "Not as bad as the Fall of Beacon, but a disaster nonetheless."

"You may be understating that," Caitlin remarked dryly. "Considering some of the things it brought down on us."

Cas wrapped her arms tightly around her. "Are you still upset about your parents?"

"A little," She admitted. "But I…I don't want them to be miserable either."

Cas rubbed her back. "I know that it's hard for you."

"Even when I want them, I don't deal with change well," Caitlin sighed heavily. "Sometimes I don't even know what I'm doing anymore."

"I don't either," Cas said softly. "But we're working through it."

"I just don't want us to end up like my parents…" She said weakly. "I don't want us to resent each other…"

"Caity," Cas said, kissing her cheek. "We're in much different circumstances, and in a much better place. It's not going to happen like that, please don't worry."

"How can I not?" She exclaimed. "When I thought my parents were happy –"

"Are you alright?" Emmett asked as he stepped into their apartment, causing Cas to shift just enough to send her father a dark look. "Hey, I warned you I would make sure you two are okay."

Cas shook her head. "Daddy, sometimes I worry about you."

"We all do," Emmett shrugged. "It's nothing new, Cassie."

Caitlin collapsed rather dramatically into the sofa. "I'm a horrible person…"

Emmett raised an eyebrow, glancing to his daughter. "What exactly happened?"

Cas sighed as she sat down next to her wife, wrapping an arm around her.

"Elizabeth and Michael's divorce hit her harder than she wanted to admit," Cas said, then resting her head on her wife's shoulder. "Caity, there's nothing to worry about for us –"

"I already tried to explain that there is –" She started.

"No, Cassie's right," Emmett said, pulling out one of the nearby bar stools and sitting down himself. "You two are nothing like Elizabeth and Michael ever were, the first way being in that you two see each other all the time. You know your parents were often separated for long spans of time."

Caitlin was silent, struggling to reconcile her thoughts.

"And we're not dealing with secrets," Cas reminded her. "At least, not beyond the materials that we have no choice but to keep classified. I love you, Caity, I promise…"

Caitlin bit her lip. "I still don't know what to think…"

"You don't have to right now," Cas said as gently as possible. "But please don't make yourself miserable because you don't know what to make of your parents' divorce. It's been done, it's over."

"I hope mommy will be okay," Caitlin said quietly. "It was really hard on her even though she didn't think she could do it anymore…"

Emmett adjusted his glasses a bit awkwardly.

"Caitlin," He said hesitantly. "She's alright, I promise. And she's…"

"What?" Caitlin asked, her curiosity piqued in spite of herself. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Emmett and Cas shared an awkward glance, both of them having known for several weeks.

"Eliza and James have been…seeing each other," Cas said, and Emmett snorted. "What? That's true!"

"That's an understatement," He countered. "Considering that they've been sleeping together."

"What?" Caitlin stared at them. "Since when –"

"Caity –" Cas started.

"No, it's okay," She said, sending her wife a sharp look. "Actually…that…I hope that works out for them…"

Emmett raised an eyebrow. "Should any of us be worried that you're taking that well?"

"I mean…" Caitlin sighed. "I know James well enough to understand him on a basic level, and…and if…my mom can be impulsive but she's careful. If they're…if they're involved…well…I just wish that she had told me."

"How exactly would you tell your child that you're involved with a close friend shortly out of your divorce?" Cas said slowly. "I don't know if I'd ever feel right saying it."

"I…" Caitlin shook her head and then all but ran out of the room. "I don't know…"

Emmett and Cas looked around the room for a moment, a bit uncomfortable.

"Great," Cas said, probing her forehead. "Even if not for the reason I thought it would, I've managed to upset her with that…"

"It's not just that," Emmett told her. "She and I were talking earlier today, and she sounded like she was nearing a breakdown over work, and the scandals, and everything to do with Salem."

Cas considered that. "She has been eerily silent on that subject."

"She's terrified," Emmett said. "And she's scared of what not only what everything will become, but what will happen to all of us."

Cas glanced down the hall. "I hope she'll be okay. I feel like she's pushing herself so many different ways and it's not working out."

"It has before," Emmett reminded her. "Which is probably why she thinks it will continue to."

Cas reached over to the end of the sofa and grabbed a soft blanket which she wrapped around herself.

"It's not even just work," She admitted. "It's everything. Several things have fallen through for her personally, and she keeps telling me that her world is changing too fast."

"I'm just glad you married her," Emmett said. "Since, like your mother, you're good at keeping people like her in line. She and I have a lot of the same tendencies."

"Going through problems instead of around them," Cas started. "Struggling to wait for things because you both feel like you have something prove."

"Sounds like Emmy's told you a lot," Emmett said with a half-smile. "I wish I had been able to be there more, when you were little…but your mother did so much, and I love that about her. If it had been me instead of her with you…god, I don't even know what I would have been. Probably a mess."

"She had a hard time with you gone," Cas pulled the blanket tighter around herself. "I'm sure mommy told you that. After…the incident with the ring and my psychitity, she told me that there were days she just wished you were there…and she got that."

Emmett sighed. "I just hope we don't lose everything we've worked so hard to gain. I don't think any of us could go through the pain of losing everyone we love again…"


	99. Chapter 99

_**February 19th**_

 _ **City Of Atlas**_

 _ **Atlas**_

 _ **Downtown**_

 _ **7:48 PM**_

"Weird…" Matt muttered. "But, then again, nothing about this family has been normal for a long time…"

Luna pouted as she sat down beside her sister. "Don't go, Nattie…"

"I have to," She told her almost tonelessly. "And I'm not leaving for another week, okay? I'm just getting ready now because I'm going to be a huntress like mom."

"Mommy's not a huntress," Luna said, looking with wide eyes to Karissa. "She does politics."

Karissa laughed a bit in spite of herself. "If only my job were that simple."

"Your job sounds like absolute hell," Natalie remarked. "Considering that the Council is a mess and our family has spent the last few months facing scandal because of Nicole."

Luna looked at her sister in confusion. "Nicole?"

"Not the time," Spencer said, picking up his five-year old daughter in his arms. "You're still too young."

"She's five!" Natalie exclaimed. "Just tell her!"

"No," Spencer said, sending her a pointed look. "I'm not going to scare your baby sister out of principle."

Luna giggled as she tugged at Spencer's hair. "Your hair is messy, daddy."

"Well," Spencer said with a smile. "It's naturally long and shaggy."

Karissa rolled her eyes. "I don't think I've ever known you to have neat hair. You didn't even try to tame it when you were working for the Council as an investigator."

"And as a professor, no one cares what my hair looks like," Spencer replied. "To be honest, I think a lot of them are more relieved the more dishevelled I am during lectures because they know I'm not going to be able to be too harsh."

Natalie sighed. "You're not harsh in the slightest."

Percival gave her a funny look. "Are you okay, Nattie? You sound really done with life."

She scowled. "Thank you, Perce, for captioning my nightmare."

"It's a great pleasure as always," He said with a smirk. "And I'm sure that nothing could be much better."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Don't say the words pleasure or pleasing, Perce. They sound gross. I mean, if you say you're pleased or find something pleasing, it sounds like you want to fuck it."

Perce stared at him in confusion. "What the hell does that mean?"

"What the hell!" Luna started giggling. "That sounds funny."

"It's also a song," Karissa remarked a bit dryly. "One that I maybe like a bit too much."

"Oh, come on," Spencer said, kissing her cheek. "There's nothing wrong with liking that song."

Karissa sighed. "I suppose…"

"Mommy's funny," Luna said, smiling at her mother and then tugging at Spencer's collar. "You think so too, right daddy?"

"Of course he does," Natalie said dryly. "He'll say and do anything if it means he can have sex with Karissa later. Kind of why you're here."

Luna glanced towards her sister in confusion, while Matthew and Percival shared uncomfortable looks, and Spencer and Karissa stared at each other.

"Nattie," Spencer said sharply. "I understand that you're having a hard time, but there's no reason to take out your irritability on –"

"I can take out my irritability on whomever I damn well please," Natalie snapped. "I might die anyways because of my silver eyes, and I don't care who I hurt in making my life as tolerable as possible!"

"Nattie, you're talking crazy," Matt sent his sister a concerned look. "For the love god, don't be a bitch!"

"You're my brother!" She exclaimed. "You're supposed to take my side –"

"I'm not taking sides," Matt informed her. "I'm the one being reasonable here."

"Seconded." Percival said, feigning a cough before slipping across the hall with Matt and starting a round of Halo.

Natalie collapsed back against her bed in exasperation. "How come everyone always leaves me to defend myself?"

"I like you, Lili!" Luna told her sister. "Matt and Perce are mean."

Spencer sighed. "Natalie –"

"Leave me alone," She said, and he left the room with Luna leaving only his daughter and wife. "Karissa, I meant you too."

"I know full well what you meant," She told her. "I am a lot of things, but I'm not stupid."

Natalie scowled. "You act like I don't know that. I don't hate you, but you know full well that we haven't been on the best of terms in the last two years."

"You don't really want to go Beacon," Karissa said, and Natalie bit her lip. "And you have something to prove."

"So do you," Natalie said, crossing her arms as she stared at the ceiling. "All of us do, but that doesn't mean –"

"That we're doing it for the right reasons," Karissa shook her head and stepped out into the hall. "It's not as if we haven't fought the right fight for all the wrong reasons before."

"Mommy?" Luna poked her head out into the hall from her room upon hearing her mother's footsteps. "Hi!"

"Hi, Luna," Karissa said, ruffling her daughter's dark curls before stepping into her room. "Is it alright if daddy and I talk?"

Luna nodded. "Okay."

Karissa sighed heavily as she pulled the door shut. "Spence?"

"In here," Spencer said from the bathroom, and Karissa twisted her azure curls in her hands as she stepped in. "You look tense, 'Rissa."

"I always am," Karissa said, reaching for a hair tie as her husband tugged down the sleeves of his shirt. "Especially these days."

"My dad's worried about you," Spencer told her, and Karissa sighed again. "In part because of –"

"I get it," Karissa said, rubbing her neck. "Spence, I'm worried too, what with Ozpin and his plan –"

"He hasn't told us it, though," Spencer glanced near his injection scars despite them being covered. "I hope it's not going to end us all…"

"Regardless, it's not going to change anything," Karissa hesitated for a moment. "Well, it's not going to change much. People like Varna are always going to be threatening, the White Fang is always going to commit acts of terrorism. Nothing's going to change, beyond us being safe from Salem."

Spencer nodded, running a hand through his shaggy dark hair. "Makes me wonder why Natalie even wants to try…other than being obsessed with Arianna."

Karissa considered that. "I don't know…"

"I don't either," Spencer said, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "Are you feeling alright, honey?"

Karissa nodded. "Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind."

Spencer sighed. "'Rissa –"

"It doesn't have anything to do with last night," She said gently. "I just glad you're alright."

Spencer shook his head. "What are we even doing anymore?"

"I don't even know," Karissa said, letting him hold her close as she rested her head on his shoulder. "But I hope it's not leading us to hell…"

* * *

"She can't be killed," Ozpin said as he paced. "That's something I know for certain."

Cristal sighed. "Well, then what are we going to do?"

"Seal her," Ozpin told her. "Sealing her into a box which cannot be open and then thrown into the vault."

Cristal raised an eyebrow. "How exactly is that going to work?"

"After we've weakened her to a near-human state, her powers fail," Ozpin told her, and Cristal considered that. "And that will allow me to use what powers I have left to trap her inside of a box and seal it to the point in which it can never be opened in any way. That will be the end of Salem, likely the end of my powers, and, thankfully, the end of my reincarnations."

Cristal bit her lip as she pushed up her glasses. "And if that doesn't work?"

"I…" Ozpin shook his head. "I don't know. I'm counting on this to work, Chrissy, because if it doesn't –"

"I don't want us to lose everything," Cristal said. "Especially because I…because I shouldn't even be here…"

Ozpin paused and then embraced her tightly. "Chrissy, please stop saying that –"

"How can I stop saying that when it's true?" She stared at him, her grey eyes wide. "Ozpin, I'm forty-seven years old but I wasn't even here for nearly twenty of them! I was –"

"Mommy?" Eight-year-old Courtney Schnee poked her head into her parents' room a bit nervously. "Are you okay?"

Cristal stared at her daughter for a moment, but then nodded. "I'm fine, Courtney."

The girl hesitated but smiled nonetheless. "Can you braid my hair?"

"Come here," Cristal said, motioning her daughter to sit down on the edge of the bed as she reached for a hairbrush and ties. "How was your day?"

"Good!" She exclaimed happily as her mother began to brush through her hair. "What are you and daddy talking about?"

"Nothing," Ozpin said, and Cristal sighed in relief. "Apart from me going back to Beacon soon."

"Oh," Courtney said. "I thought you were staying in Atlas."

"I can't," Ozpin said, looking a bit worriedly to Cristal. "Chrissy, are sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," She said, separating their daughter's locks. "Really."

"You're going to miss daddy," Courtney said. "Can't we go down to Vale?"

"Sweetie, I work here in Atlas," Cristal said as she began to braid. "And, as much as I can often work from home, I can't constantly be working in Vale. There's too much that makes that unnecessarily complicated for it to work."

Courtney bit her lip. "Oh."

"I wish it were different too," She told her. "But things just can't work like that right now."

"Okay…" Courtney said, clearly disappointed. "I guess…"

Cristal paused upon seeing her daughter summon a perfect orb of ice in the palm of her hand.

"Your powers still scare me sometimes," She admitted. "I worry about what they may mean for you…"

"I keep them a secret," Courtney promised her. "You know that."

"Of course I do," Cristal said, tying off the braid and then embracing her daughter tightly. "But I don't want that to mean you are destroyed by them."

"I won't be," Courtney said, attempting to comfort her mother. "I promise."

"Okay," Cristal said, releasing her and then kissing her forehead affectionately. "I love you, baby."

Courtney smiled as she all but skipped out of the room. "Love you too, mommy!"

A heavy silence passed between Cristal and Ozpin as he shut the door behind their daughter, then wrapping his arms tightly around his wife.

"Cristal…" Ozpin murmured. "There's nothing wrong with you being alive. Our daughter adores you, I love you more than anything, and –"

"Oz," Cristal said quietly. "I don't know what's going to happen if this doesn't go the way we plan…"

"I don't either," Ozpin admitted. "And it worries me, and I can't stop thinking about it, but I have to try. You know I want things to be as normal as they possibly can be –"

"And you really don't think it's wrong that I'm here?" She asked him. "You really don't think it's wrong that I'm alive?"

"Of course I don't," He squeezed her lovingly, wishing there was more he could do to comfort her. "And I would do anything to keep you alive. I already have."

Cristal sighed heavily, not wanting to think too much about having been dead.

"Chrissy," Ozpin said, holding her close. "Please don't let this upset you. It's going to be alright."

"You don't know that!" She exclaimed. "How is it that you're so sure about this when so many have died? How are we even still alive?"

"I…I don't know," Ozpin admitted. "But I wish we hadn't lost as many people as we have. Glynda –"

"I don't even know what to do about it," Cristal shook her head. "Losing Glynda has been nothing but absolute hell, and the fact that Varna was so…so…so bloodthirsty that she didn't care who she killed so long as she killed someone –"

"I know," Ozpin said gently. "And I wish I'd never told her about the things we know. She's…she's not at all what any of us thought she was."

"Well," Cristal said a bit cynically. "We did always think she was a bit off, and way too invested in gaining power for herself –"

"We still…" Ozpin sighed heavily. "I never should have trusted her."

"It's not entirely your fault," Cristal reminded him. "All of us should have known."

"I still should have said something," Ozpin said. "I should have been more careful."

"That's true for all of us," Cristal told him. "We've all made mistakes, believe me, you're not the only one."

"I hope not," Ozpin tucked one of her thick, white curls behind her ear before brushing his fingers over her side bangs. "I don't want to lose you, not again."

"I don't either…" Cristal fought back tears. "God, I feel like a complete mess right now. I don't know why I feel like this, I don't know why I'm so –"

"Chrissy, you've had a lot to deal with recently," Ozpin said gently. "I don't fault you in the slightest for being worried. You're being pulled every which way, and I know that your anxiety is starting to get to you."

Cristal glanced to the bottle of anti-depressants on the nightstand. "I should probably be more consistent about taking them. I know they help, I've just been distracted…"

"Chrissy, I'm so sorry," Ozpin said, rubbing her back. "If there's anything I can do to help –"

"Just…" Cristal shook her head. "Just help me keep my head on straight. I'm a mess enough as it is, I don't need to have a total breakdown."

"You're not going to have a total breakdown," Ozpin assured her. "You're not, Chrissy, I know you. You're strong enough to take it and be alright."

Cristal sighed. "I hope you're right."

"I've seen you take a lot," Ozpin reminded her, softly kissing her before going on. "And it's been alright. I've been there for you, and I will continue to be. You're my wife, and I need you more than anything else right now. Courtney's alright, I'm alright, and things are going to work out."

"They haven't," Cristal said, biting at her lip. "At least, when it comes to defeating Her. Sometimes I even wonder if we're going to ever be alright, if anything will ever change…"

"It will," Ozpin said. "I promise."

"I hope you're right," Cristal whispered. "I really do…things are bad enough, and I don't want to see them become any worse. We've seen and been to hell and back already because of all of this…I don't want that to be in vain..."

* * *

"So…" Emmett said a bit awkwardly. "You two slept together yet?"

Emmeline smacked his arm, albeit mostly playfully. "Emmett!"

"What?" He said. "That was serious!"

Elizabeth scowled. "Not funny, Emmett."

"I'm going to assume that is a yes," Emmett said with a smirk. "You two have slept together."

James buried his face in his hands. "Emmett –"

"Confirmation," Emmett said, and Emmeline groaned. "Oh, come on, Emmy. It's a valid question, and –"

"And it's not one that we wanted to answer!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Emmett, tell me, what was it like the first time you and Emmeline had sex?"

"Well –" Emmett started.

"Emmett!" Emmeline stared at him almost incredulously. "Please don't!"

"What?" He said in slight exasperation. "It was –"

"I know it was –" Emmeline started.

"I'm enjoying this," Elizabeth whispered to James, who started laughing. "He deserves this."

"I don't deserve this!" Emmett declared. "And you asked!"

"Yes, I did," Elizabeth said with a faint smirk. "So…"

Emmeline groaned. "Please don't…"

Elizabeth sighed. "Alright."

"So," Emmett said with a grin. "Just to be clear –"

"Yes, James and I have slept together," Elizabeth said tiredly. "Does that help?"

Emmett shrugged. "Well, yes."

James shook his head as he wrapped an arm around Elizabeth. "Are you drunk?"

"Nah," Emmett said with a grin. "And if I was, you would have known."

"Because it would be disturbingly obvious?" James asked him. "I'm not sure I'd like to see that."

"None of us do," Emmett said, and Emmeline rolled her eyes. "What?"

"Emmett," She said, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm more concerned about your coffee issue."

"I don't have an issue with coffee," Emmett said. "And there's nothing wrong with drinking coffee after two."

"Yes, there is," Emmeline said, sending him a sharp look. "Especially because it's basically a sin in this family."

Emmett smirked. "Is it?"

"Yes," Emmeline said, sending him a sharp look. "I mean that, Emmett."

He kissed her cheek. "I adore you, you know that?"

Emmeline smiled. "Of course I do."

"Good," Emmett said, pushing up his glasses as he pulled his wife into him. "So…"

"Are you two happy?" Emmeline looked to Elizabeth and James who both hesitated. "That doesn't seem good."

"No, it's not…" James shook his head. "We're just conflicted and dealing with a lot."

"Because of my divorce," Elizabeth said quickly, then biting her lip. "Which…"

"Eliza," James said gently. "We don't have to talk about this."

She shook her head. "No secrets, remember?"

"Eliza, I –" He started.

"James, please," Elizabeth said, sighing. "If we're not going to have secrets between each other, we shouldn't –"

"Are you two okay?" Emmett asked them. "Eliza?"

"I'm fine," She said. "I promise."

Emmett raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

Elizabeth scowled. "Emmett –"

"Alright, sorry," Emmett shook his head. "Eliza, I know that –"

"I'm just…" Elizabeth rubbed her neck. "A lot's been rough on me recently, Emmett, and I'm having a hard time with everything."

"Eliza," Emmeline said gently. "What are you not telling us?"

Elizabeth bit her lip, her eyes wide. "I…"

"Eliza –" Emmeline started.

"I don't even know what it is that we're doing," She said, running her hands through her long, dark hair. "With everything that we've been trying, we're on the edge of losing everything. And if Ozpin doesn't have a plan, or if he does have one that he's not telling us, then we're going to have to decide if any of this is worth it."

James gave her a nervous squeeze. "Eliza, we don't have to fight ourselves."

"I know that." She snapped, then sighing heavily. "I'm already snapping, aren't I?"

"Eliza," Emmeline said calmly. "Maybe we all just need to take a step back from all of this and deal with the White Fang. And –"

"Me?" A voice suggested, stepping into the room with a smirk. "Ah…"

Emmett stared at the woman in horror. "Rosalinde Varna –"

"Oh," The prime minister said with a grin, holding her spell book in her left hand precariously while her violet eyes sparkled eerily. "Miss me, all of you?"


	100. Chapter 100

**Author's Note: _Direct_ continuation of the last chapter**

 _ **February 19th**_

 _ **City Of Atlas**_

 _ **Atlas**_

 _ **Downtown**_

 _ **8:53 PM**_

There was an uncomfortable silence that fell over the room upon Varna's entrance.

"Oh, are you all that shell shocked?" Rosalinde rolled her eyes. "You know –"

She cut herself off upon hearing footsteps from the third floor.

"...Oz, you know what I mean," Cristal said, her voice traveling as their footsteps grew closer down the stairs. "...And it's not as if the board has made my life easy."

Ozpin sighed. "... I wish I could do more to help."

"Ozpin!" Varna exclaimed upon the door opening into the living room from the third floor. "So nice to see you!"

"What…" Ozpin took his wife's hand tightly in his. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Varna feigned ignorance, looking at her spell book in her hand. "Why do you think?"

"Nothing good," Elizabeth remarked dryly. "If we keep in mind what happened a few months ago when you were here last."

"Oh," Varna said with a smirk. "I forgot about that. Sorry if you're bothered, Madame Morell, I'm sure the chair of the Atlesian National Security Council –"

"Rose –" Ozpin started.

"How could you kill her?" Cristal exclaimed, staring at the violet eyed woman in horror. "Even if you were trying to kill Edward –"

"She got in my way," Varna said silkily. "And I didn't have the time to shoot Edward. Besides, my point had been made."

Emmeline shook her head. "What are you really after?"

"Is it not perfectly clear?" Varna smirked. "More of what I have — power. That, and...one other thing…"

Another anxiety-ridden silence fell over them.

"And what exactly is that?" James asked her, clenching his fists. "You –"

"Love," Varna sighed, lowering and then dropping her spell book into her bag. "From someone in particular…"

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

Varna gestured to Ozpin. "Him."

Ozpin instinctively pulled Cristal in close to him, startling her at first.

"No," He said. "I don't love you, Rose, and I never have."

She rolled her eyes. "And yet you love Cristal? Please, she's nothing more than a spoiled heiress who shouldn't even be here."

Cristal scowled at her despite the sickening feeling rising within her. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Varna smirked. "Actually, I would. Why are you here, alive?"

Cristal flinched in spite of herself. "Because I…" She bit her lip. "Because I'm able to survive."

Varna snorted. "You're an awful liar, Cristal. Even if I didn't know what really happened…it'd be obvious that you're trying to hide something."

"How do you know what really happened?" Elizabeth asked her, torn between curiosity and anger with the woman. "You haven't –"

"Elizabeth," Varna said, her tone bordering on condescending. "You don't have to play the pretense of not knowing. This isn't a Council meeting. You and I both know exactly who I work for."

Elizabeth tensed upon Varna flashing her eyes temporarily amber.

"Eliza?" James said, placing a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Elizabeth hesitated, unsure of what to say.

"You're still scared of her?" Varna considered that. "Well, I suppose you're not the first person to be afraid of Cinder. Not that, of course, she's the only one I work for."

"Salem," Ozpin surmised. "We've known that much for a while."

"Have you?" Varna retorted. "If you have, why haven't you staged an assassination?"

"Because it is not in the interest of the kingdom of Atlas to stage a coup in Vacuo," Emmeline said tiredly, treading the line between calling the police and shooting the woman herself. "However, you've still set yourself up for detainment by coming into this kingdom illegally and –"

"General Ciel," Varna said, rolling her eyes. "You're not going to get anywhere by being a politician in this moment."

"I'm not a politician," She informed her haughtily. "I'm a General, as you so aptly noted."

Varna took a slight step back upon Emmeline standing up.

"And I do have a few questions for you," She said, stepping towards the woman. "The first of which being what the hell is wrong with you?"

Varna laughed. "Oh, well…"

Moving too swiftly for any of them to stop her, Varna pulled a gun out of her purse and aimed for the General. But it was not to be like the last time. Ciel registered what was happening and the danger she was in fast enough to avoid death, but not to avoid incurring serious harm. The gunshot rung out through the apartment and scared all of them but no more than Elizabeth who, a few minutes later, threw up. The bullet pierced through Ciel's shoulder as she tried to activate her semblance in time. Her aura snapped against the pressure of trying to use her underused semblance, and the bullet pierced through her skin. Emmeline let out a cry of anguish and pain in spite of herself as she fell to the floor. Her left arm hit the ground remarkably hard – fracturing it as her aura had snapped. Varna was gone a few seconds after. Emmett ran towards his wife as fast as he could manage but did not reach her until she had fallen over.

"Emmy!" He exclaimed, trying to help her up. "Sweetie –"

"Emmett," She said, groaning as he helped her up and over towards the chaise lounge. "I –"

"Oh my god," Elizabeth said, staring at her for a moment and the blood from her shoulder before running out of the room – looking sick. "I can't…"

"Eliza!" James ran after her in concern. "Eliza, she's going to be alright…"

Anxiety ridden silence held over them for a long moment as Emmett grabbed his coat and shoes.

"Emmy," He said gently. "I –"

"I need this dealt with…" She said, wincing upon trying to move either of her arms. "And I think my left is broken…"

"I know…" Emmett sighed heavily. "Emmy, do you –"

"I'm –" Emmeline cut herself off as she stood up shakily, knowing she was still losing a lot of blood. "Oh my god, Emmett…"

He wrapped an arm tightly around her and began to help her out to the car.

"It's going to be alright," He said, pressing a reassuring kiss to her cheek. "I promise, Emmy."

"Emmett –" Cristal started.

"We'll be back later," He told her. "We will."

Cristal collapsed against the sofa, probing her forehead.

"What the hell…" She muttered. "At least…"

"Chrissy," Ozpin said, squeezing her shoulders. "I'm so sorry, I –"

"It's not your fault," She said tiredly. "But I'm still worried…what the hell was that, and if she –"

"I have no feelings towards her," Ozpin promised, holding her close and kissing her softly. "I love you, Chrissy."

She sighed. "I know, Oz, that's not what I meant."

He looked at her in concern. "What is it?"

"If she's more than willing to do anything to hurt or make the kingdom of Atlas become more strained…" She started, then adjusting her glasses out of nervous habit. "How long is it going to be until another one of us ends up dead? What if it's me?"

"It won't be," Ozpin said, running his hands through her curls. "I promise."

* * *

"Brie," Ronnie said as they stepped out of the elevator with Ryan. "I'm sure it's going to be fine."

She sighed. "Ronnie, you know I'm not worried about your brother and his wife."

"Why are you worried?" Ryan asked her. "Are you okay, mommy?"

"I just have a lot of things on my mind," She told him, sharing a look with Ronnie. "And, then, of course, there's the baby."

"Which will be fine," Ronnie said, reaching for her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I promise."

"Sometimes I'm not so sure," Brianna said as she knocked. "Honestly, Ronnie –"

"What are you all doing here?" Natalie tore open the door and eyed them with slight curiosity. "Daddy! Ronnie and Brie –"

Spencer stepped into the room looking a bit disheveled. "You weren't kidding."

"Kidding isn't exactly something I do," Ronnie said as he, Brianna, and Ryan stepped inside. "You should know that by now."

Spencer sighed as the door shut. "'Rissa, honey –"

"What is it?" She raised an eyebrow upon seeing Ronnie and Brianna. "I wasn't sure if you two were going to –"

"Yeah, yeah," Natalie muttered, motioning Ryan to follow her. "You can hang out with them, but if you three bother me…"

"I'm seven, you know," Ryan protested. "Come on, Natalie –"

"We're teenagers," She replied. "I mean, other than Luna."

An uncomfortable silence hung over the four until a door slammed down the hall.

"You feeling okay?" Karissa sighed upon Brianna's hesitation. "Promising."

Brianna shook her head as she sat down. "No, actually, I'm just tired. The morning sickness has mostly stopped, which has made getting work done easier. The new project is fascinating, and I'm glad to be doing research again instead of just ethics review."

"I'm sure that's harder," Spencer said, biting his lip as Karissa wrapped an arm tightly around him. "With everything."

Brianna picked at her nails for a moment. "I haven't felt quite right about doing ethics review since...well...nearly a decade ago…"

"Brie, we've both made mistakes," Ronnie said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "And –"

"Ronnie, don't," She said tiredly. "Please?"

He nodded. "Sorry."

Karissa raised an eyebrow. "Ronnie, how is it that you've –"

"Karissa –" He started.

"Single handedly invented a new kind of stupid," She finished, twisting her azure curls in her hands. "A kind of stupid that shows that you –"

"Karissa –" Ronnie tried to set aside the guilt he felt.

"You took a rumor started by your estranged sister and, beyond telling your wife the truth, told the world that it was true," Karissa went on. "And to make matters worse, only a few people had believed it. You know why Kiara can do whatever she wants? She doesn't dignify accusations with a response!"

Ronnie swallowed hard, remembering how he had given in.

 _Kiara had grasped him by the tie. "I have every reason to prosecute both you and your wife, Ronnie. You know my price not to do it, to wipe everything clean."_

 _He had stared at her in abject horror. "My wife and I just had a child –"_

 _"And you two want to end up in prison?" Kiara had shaken her head. "Do you even hear yourself?"_

 _Ronnie had sighed. "Kiara –"_

 _"No one has to know, and Brie's not here," She had said, stepping towards the bed. "Well?"_

 _Ronnie had paused, but then kissed her rather deeply._

 _"Is that what you wanted?" He had asked her as he pulled away, hating himself. "Kiara?"_

 _She had pursed her lips and let her hands wander down before cupping his inner thigh. "Not quite…"_

 _Ronnie took in a sharp breath. "You've got to be kidding me."_

 _"Not in the slightest," Kiara replied. "And you yourself said that she's traveling."_

 _"She's in Vale," Ronnie snapped, feeling defensive of his wife. "And it's only for a few days because she has a conference."_

 _"How old is your son again?" Kiara questioned. "He's still –"_

 _"Six months," Ronnie informed her, pushing her hands off of him. "And –"_

 _"I'm surprised Brianna would abandon him," Kiara remarked. "But she is –"_

 _"Don't," Ronnie said with a scowl. "She had to return to work, and this is important for her career. I can work from home almost every day if I have to –"_

 _"And you're going to both end up in prison if these facts come to light," Kiara reminded him. "You –"_

 _"Erase the data first," Ronnie told her, crossing his arms. "I'm not going to do anything I'll regret if you don't erase the evidence first."_

 _Kiara sighed heavily, pulling out her scroll and doing so. "There," She said, shoving the screen towards him. "You can look yourself."_

 _Ronnie swallowed hard upon seeing she truly had done what she had said._

 _"Now," Kiara said, setting aside her scroll and peeling off her blazer. "You know what you've got to do for me…"_

"Ronnie," Brianna said with a wince, drawing him from his thoughts. "You're hurting my shoulder."

He let go of her suddenly. "Brie, sweetheart, I am so sorry –"

"For what?" She stared at him. "Ronnie, you're scaring me."

He embraced her tightly in spite of himself. "I'm sorry for everything…"

She brushed aside tears. "Oh, Ronnie…"

"I…" Ronnie shook his head. "I really am, Brie. I'm sorry for everything…"

A silence hung over them for a moment.

"Sometimes," Spencer started, letting Karissa hold him closer to her. "You're better than you get credit for."

Ronnie shook his head as he pushed up his glasses. "I have a lot of issues with you, Spence, but you're a better person than I am."

Spencer bit his lip, hanging his head in shame. "No, I'm not…"

Karissa rested her head on his shoulder. "Spence, we talked about this earlier. You're not a bad person, husband, or father because of your struggle with addiction!"

"Your semblance doesn't make you a bad person either," Brianna told him kindly. "I've known you awhile, and –"

"Mommy!" Luna ran into the room and all but jumped onto Karissa and Spencer. "There was a scary noise…"

Spencer raised an eyebrow in concern. "Luna –"

"I don't like it," The little girl whimpered. "Can I sleep with you and mommy tonight?"

Karissa sighed, sharing a knowing look with Spencer. "Alright," She said. "But just for tonight."

Luna nodded. "Okay."

"It's going to be alright," Karissa said, pressing a soft kiss to Spencer's lips. "Or, so I hope."

"Hope is a funny thing," Brianna said dryly. "And who knows if we're misguided until it's too late?"

"Brie," Ronnie said gently. "You don't have to be so worried, honestly."

Brianna stared at him in shock. "Ronnie, you don't understand. We've all seen –"

"That doesn't mean –" He started.

"Ronnie, we're all…" Brianna shook her head. "Why do I even try when we're going to end up dead regardless?"

"Cheerful," Karissa said, then sighing. "But entirely possible."

Spencer glanced out at the city lights as they sparkled. "Maybe we should try to just live...when there's no chance of knowing how much time we're going to have left…"

* * *

"President Ciel," Winter said as she followed him into his office. "This just came in a few

minutes ago, but several people under my command –"

"Schnee," Edward said, motioning her to sit down. "Please explain this matter calmly."

"Varna was spotted two hours ago downtown by a few members of my command who were off duty," Winter said, slowing her voice. "And no one knows how she got into the kingdom — let alone why she's here."

Ciel took in a sharp breath, unsettled by the word.

"That," He eventually said. "Is disturbing, to say the very least."

"I want information on her," Winter said. "And why she's here. After what happened the last time she was here with the attempted assassination and the murder of Glynda –"

"I know," He said, attempting to set aside the guilt he felt upon the reminder. "And there are quite a lot things I have issue with because of –"

"Sir, this might have something to do with your family," Winter bit her lip, nervous that she might be crossing a line. "Because the only information I got about her directly was a recording of her saying that she has a point to make to the Ciels."

Edward grimaced a bit at the thought. "Are you serious?"

Winter stiffened. "Yes, I am."

Ciel sighed heavily, unsure of what to say.

"The problem I see with that statement," He said hesitantly, adjusting his bowler hat nervously. "Is that it's cryptically vague. That could mean anything. She could be looking for Nicole and Torchwick to force them to do something for her or…her associates. She could be trying to back Ronnie and Brianna into another corner. She could be attempting to extort Karissa and Spencer. Or…"

Winter tried to mask her curiosity as she spoke. "Or what?"

"Or she could be trying to kill Emmeline and Emmett," Ciel said, feeling a bit sick at the thought. "Something that Cinder herself has suggested attempting to do before."

Winter considered that. "You're not concerned she's after you?"

"If she is, she's had more than a few chances to kill me or have me killed," Ciel said as calmly as he could. "I don't want to die – I'm human and of course have that instinctual drive to preserve my life – but I'm more concerned about what she might try to do to my children and their families than what she may or may not have in for me."

Winter nodded. "Understandable."

"However," Ciel said. "The last time that she indicated that she had it in for anyone, she came into the kingdom after refusing to multiple times in order to attempt to kill me and to actually kill Glynda. The idea of her having it in for anyone and being able to get into the kingdom undetected is a terrifying one, to put it mildly."

Winter raised an eyebrow. "How would one get into the kingdom undetected?"

"I should be asking you that," Ciel replied. "In all honesty, I don't know the full answer to that, but I can postulate that it has something to do with a network of people who are…willing to turn a blind eye to her and the White Fang. They've successfully trafficked people into the kingdom before, I would not be surprised if they still have that capability. Frankly, with Varna's personal wealth and her access to the wealth of the kingdom of Vacuo, I would be shocked if the White Fang has nothing to do with her. They'll do anything for the highest bidder or the scariest leader. Adam Taurus is a prime example."

"He's nothing but a –" Winter started.

"Schnee," Ciel said calmly. "We know full well what Taurus is, we do not have to constantly reiterate it."

Winter sighed. "Sorry."

"If Varna is –" Ciel paused upon his scroll going off. "Emmett?"

"Sir –" Winter started nervously.

He quickly answered the call. "Emmett, what is going on –"

"Emmy was shot," He said. "We're at the hospital right now. They're fixing up her shoulder…but she probably also has a broken arm –"

"What?" Ciel said, paling a bit. "Emmett –"

"We can explain more later," He said. "But you needed to know –"

"Emmett –" Ciel started.

Shuffling was heard over the line, followed by faint arguing.

"…Emmett, for fuck's sake, give me the damn –"

"…Emmy –"

"…Give me the damn –"

More shuffling was heard before Emmeline spoke.

"Dad?" She said, swearing for a moment before going on. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Ciel told her, glancing to Winter who was still sitting patiently. "What happened to you?"

"Razor thin evading of death," She replied darkly. "Rosalinde Varna shot me in the shoulder."

Ciel was silent for a long moment.

"Dad?" Emmeline said nervously. "What is it?"

"Later," He said. "Take care of yourselves, I'll be there in an hour."

She sighed. "Okay."

Ciel ended the call before turning back to Winter.

"I might not be supposed to tell you this," He said slowly. "But, as you'll find out regardless, Varna accosted Emmeline in, based on what she said, an attempt on her life."

Winter bit her lip. "That's…that's horrifying."

"I'm going to have to leave," Ciel told her, reaching for his coat. "This is worrying enough, and I need to make sure that they're alright."

Winter nodded as she stood up. "I'm so sorry, sir –"

"This has nothing to do with you, Schnee," He reminded her. "Do not convince yourself that things you have nothing to do with are somehow a result of yourself. Truly, that's a trap that too many people can fall down."

Winter sighed heavily as she stepped into the hall, heading towards the elevator. Her thoughts were swirling, and she felt like running. There was something about her that did not feel quite right. She tried to push away the discomfort that arose upon consideration of what Varna could have been trying to do, let alone what she had allegedly done. The tension which had been hanging over the air seemed to be only growing stronger. People were constantly questioning what the kingdom was doing, what the motivations of some of the higher-level officials were. There were talks of corruption and greed, as always, but they were not as singularly targeted. It seemed there was little left which could be taken as it was or appeared to be.

"Schnee?" Kiara questioned as the woman all but ran into her. "What happened? You look awful."

Winter shook her head. "That much I know."

Kiara raised an eyebrow in slight amusement before she understood.

"Was there another attack?" She asked her. "The White Fang, or –"

"Varna," Winter said darkly. "General Ciel was shot."

"Is she…" Kiara paused anxiously. "Is she alive?"

Winter nodded. "Yes, but it…"

"I'm sure it was bad," Kiara sighed heavily. "I don't know what to say."

"Varna better get caught this time," Winter said. "Otherwise…how long are we going to let her run free?"


	101. Chapter 101

_**March 1st**_

 _ **Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council**_

 _ **Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action**_

 _ **City Of Atlas**_

 _ **Atlas**_

 _ **Security Level: High**_

 _ **Necessary Security Clearance: High**_

 _ **Downtown**_

 _ **11:54 AM**_

"Madame Morell," Michael said awkwardly, eliciting a scowl from his ex-wife. "I trust you've been well?"

"I'm not sure why you're so interested, Commander Adel," She replied, stepping over towards one of her cabinets and beginning to look through some files. "It's not as if we –"

"Eliza –" James paused uncomfortably in the doorway. "If this is a bad time, I can come back."

"No, Commander Adel was just leaving," Elizabeth said, sending Michael a pointed look. "Weren't you?"

"Not really," He said, and she stiffened. "There's something I thought you should know about Varna that my team and I unearthed a few days ago."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Hm. What's that?"

Michael handed her the folder he had been carrying. "This is a case file we've put together in the last twenty-four hours regarding Alice Rosalie Carrington…or, biologically, Alice Rosalie Varna."

Elizabeth took in a sharp breath as she began to glance through the file. "Addison Carrington's niece?"

"Varna and Mark Carrington apparently came to some sort of agreement on what to do with their daughter without getting married," Michael explained. "And Addison still doesn't know who her niece's mother is, in large part because Mark told her that they eloped, and things went badly."

"You spoke with him?" Elizabeth asked, and he nodded shortly. "So, you did get this confirmed?"

"Yes," Michael said. "It's –"

"It raises a lot of questions," Elizabeth said flatly. "And, frankly, some that I now want answers to and as quickly as possible."

Michael looked at her nervously. "Eliza –"

"Don't," She said. "And stop calling me Eliza."

He stared at her. "I –"

"If you had loved me, you would have been open with me, you would have told me the truth from the start, and…" Elizabeth shook her head. "And you would have known –"

"You kept secrets too –" Michael started.

"I was being tortured!" She exclaimed, her hands shaking. "I –"

"If you had just told me –" Michael argued.

"How can you say that?" She snapped, shaking her head and not realizing that she had activated her maiden powers. "You know full well that –"

"Eliza," James said nervously. "Please –"

Elizabeth paused, staring into the mirror and seeing her eyes.

"You know how we all thought that Varna was the Summer Maiden?" She said quietly. "I'm the reason we were wrong. We never quite realized that she was a sorceress, we never quite realized what her powers truly were until we all realized what I am. She was more than content to pretend to have my powers…and I think we were all safer when she could do that."

James hesitated but wrapped an arm around her waist. "We all assumed that for a long time."

She did not fight his embrace and rather leaned into him ever so slightly. "What was I thinking?"

"You were trying to protect yourself," James said gently. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"We could have worked through this together!" Michael sent Elizabeth a sympathetic but sharp look. "Elizabeth, I know you were scared, and you had every right to be, but that doesn't mean you should have –"

"You kept from me the fact that you were taking dark money from Jacques of all people," Elizabeth scowled and Michael bit his lip. "And, after everything –"

"Am I interrupting something?" Ronnie questioned as he stepped into the room. "Something incredibly awkward and uncomfortable?"

Michael hesitated, but then left the room.

"I'm going to assume that didn't go well," Ronnie said, and Elizabeth sighed. "And you might want to deactivate your powers."

Elizabeth scowled at him. "That's not helpful, Ronnie."

"And you're burning your desk," He gestured to where her hand had fallen on the top of her desk. "There's smoke, Elizabeth, and I really don't think that you've –"

"Please don't," She said, albeit forcing herself to control her abilities as the Summer Maiden. "I'm in a rough enough spot as it is."

Ronnie sighed. "I'm sure the news about Varna's…connections didn't help."

She shook her head. "There are worse things."

"You sound detached," Ronnie noted. "Something bothering you?"

"When isn't something bothering me?" Elizabeth sighed heavily. "Ronnie, I haven't been fine for a long time and you should know that."

He was silent for a long moment.

"Sorry, Eliza," He said. "I shouldn't have asked."

"Let it be," She said dejectedly. "Seriously, Ronnie."

Ronnie nervously adjusted his glasses and then ran a hand through his slightly messy curls.

"Alright," He eventually said. "Are the two of you doing alright? With…"

"Yes," Elizabeth said, glancing to James who kissed her forehead affectionately. "We're just…trying to reconcile some things in our personal lives."

"It's getting better," James said, and she smiled weakly. "And we've worked through things together."

"You two remind me a bit of Spencer and Karissa," Ronnie said, his thoughts worriedly turning to Brianna. "I mean that in a good way. The two of them have pulled each other through a lot, and they've gotten better."

"I know," Elizabeth said, glancing out the window. "God, sometimes I wonder what we're even doing, why we even try…"

"Oz said we're going to meet in a week or two to discuss our plans to defeat Salem, to confront her," James reminded her. "I'm sure we'll have something, that we'll be able to –"

"If we haven't to already, what makes you think that we're going to be able to now?" Elizabeth stared at him, then shaking her head. "James, I don't want us to lose everything…"

"Mommy?" Caitlin Morrell hesitantly stepped into the room. "I…I have something I need to tell you."

Elizabeth looked at her worriedly. "What are you talking about? Has something happened? Are you and Cas –"

"Sweetheart, I told you not to do this alone," Cas said, coming into the room and wrapping an arm around her wife. "It's going to be alright, and I'm going to –"

"What the hell is happening?" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Caity, I'm worried enough about you after you had that breakdown the other week –"

"I found out why," She said, biting at her lip. "I…I was diagnosed with…with…"

"There's nothing wrong with it," Cas said gently. "We'll get through this. A lot of people have depression, this is something we can handle."

"Oh, Caity…" Elizabeth said, coming over to her daughter and embracing her for a moment before letting her go. "You're going to be okay –"

"And the nightmares, the…" Cas sighed. "Caity, I promise we're going to get through this together."

Caitlin stared at her for a moment before brushing tears away from her eyes and embracing her wife. "I love you…"

"I love you too," Cas murmured. "And we're going to get through this…it'll be okay."

"Emmy," Emmett said worriedly as his wife continued to type on her scroll with only her right hand. "Please don't overextend yourself, you're still hurt enough as it is."

She sighed, setting her scroll down. "Emmett, I have been shot before."

"I know that," He said, taking her hand in his and squeezing it. "But I don't want you to make this one bad off because you pushed yourself too hard."

She stared at him for a moment, struggling to think of a response.

* * *

"Emmett…" She eventually said. "I'm fine. So, my left arm is broken, and I have to leave it in this stupid sling all wrapped up, and I was shot in my right shoulder. It wasn't as severe as we thought it might be and it's going to heal right, and I'm going to be able to have normal function again. You can be as worried as you like, but I'm going to be fine."

He wrapped his arms tightly around her, then pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek.

"I love you…" He murmured. "I really do."

Emmeline smiled. "I believe that."

"Good," He said. "I want you to."

"Emmeline?" Spencer asked, stepping into the room with Karissa. "How are you?"

She sighed. "Alright, I guess."

"That's not promising," Karissa remarked, sending her a concerned look. "Especially considering your appearance."

"I look worse than I am," Emmeline told her. "And my shoulder was stitched up, they were able to remove the bullet, and my arm will probably be alright in a few weeks…"

"Emmy," Emmett said, rubbing her back. "Don't get yourself hurt trying to make things normal. Varna –"

"Varna is going to be…" Emmeline trailed off. "Never mind."

"She's going to be caught," Karissa reminded her. "And, after attempting to kill you and actually killing Glynda, she'll be tried in an international court on Vytal."

Emmeline considered that. "I wish we could do that in Atlas."

"That would be a show trial, and you know it," Karissa sent her a sharp but understanding look as she ran a hand through her azure curls. "Especially since our family would be involved."

"The Ciel-Morell-Schnee-Mar family," Emmett said, sighing as he pushed up his glasses. "Sounds synonymous with power."

"Aren't we, though?" Emmeline scowled at her hands for a moment. "And we're self-destructive as a result."

"That's probably accurate," Spencer said, then biting his lip as Karissa pulled him close to her. "At least –"

"Spence," Karissa said softly. "Honey, you're not –"

"'Rissa, please –"

"Spencer," Karissa said. "You know I love you, and we're going to be alright."

"Out of curiosity, when are the security council meetings today?" Emmeline asked her. "I was thinking about trying to go in –"

"Emmy, sweetheart –" Emmett started.

"There's two now," Karissa told her, glancing to her scroll. "Elizabeth called for an emergency meeting at eight this evening, but the first one – the weekly overview and briefing with Edward – is at five."

Emmeline nodded, then looking sharply to Emmett.

"I'm going," She told him. "And you're going to drive me."

Emmett sighed. "Alright, Emmy, but if you need anything…then please tell me."

She nodded, resting her head on his shoulder. "You know I will."

"I am a little concerned about this emergency meeting, though," Karissa said, looking through some of her messages from Elizabeth. "Eliza's being coy at best about why we need this and saying things like 'I don't want to say this over something traceable.' That concerns me a lot."

Emmeline raised an eyebrow. "That is worrying."

"Do you think this has anything to do with Varna?" Spencer asked her, and Emmeline considered that. "Or with Cinder?"

"The White Fang, possibly," Emmeline eventually said. "Nicole and Roman submitted materials of a confrontation with Adam a few weeks back…pretty disturbing, actually. We were able to intercept a large portion of the would-be terrorists up north because of them…but there are probably a lot still out there."

"I don't think it could be just that," Karissa said, hesitating slightly as she went on. "Because that's in the weekly briefing materials that we discuss with Edward."

Emmeline sighed. "I suppose that's true. Has Ronnie said anything?"

Karissa shook her head. "He's been pretty silent."

"Of course," Emmeline said a bit irritably. "But, I suppose, he's just worried about what things are going to be like with Brie. The two of them are still having a hard time…"

"Well, that's what he gets for cheating on her," Emmett said, then shaking his head. "I know he feels bad about it, and I know Kiara has just as much blame for it as he does, but that doesn't…"

"I agree he's stupid sometimes," Emmeline said. "But I've tried to let it go…there are things that bother me more right now."

"That might be an understatement," Karissa remarked dryly. "We've got a lot of issues to handle at the moment, and I'm not sure we can really handle all of them."

"I'm not sure either," Spencer admitted, and Karissa squeezed him lovingly. "And I'm still worried about Natalie…being off at Beacon and all. I'd feel better if she was at Atlas Academy, especially since I teach upper level history and your sister teaches lower level."

Karissa sighed. "She's going to be alright."

"I mean, come on," Cristal said, stepping into the room and pushing up her glasses. "Oz isn't going to let anything happen to her. You know that, right?"

Spencer bit his lip. "Of course I do, I'm just worried about her. She's my first child, and she's also the one I've got the most concern for."

"I'm sure her silver eyes are amongst those things," Cristal said, and Spencer sighed. "Especially with Salem being…well, to say the very least, after all of the silver eyed warriors."

"I know," Spencer said tiredly. "Don't remind me."

"Hey," Cristal said gently. "It's going to be alright."

"That's the hope," He said a bit dejectedly. "Not that there's much of that left."

Cristal sighed. "Listen, we're going to decide how to end this soon –"

"And even if we do, things are never going to be the same," Spencer countered, not caring as his shaggy bangs hung over his eyes. "And there's never going to be peace."

"There could be –" Cristal protested.

"Chrissy," Emmeline said, sounding a bit exhausted. "There's never going to be peace, not with everything. This world just isn't cut out for it."

"That's putting it lightly," Karissa said darkly. "Even if we end up in a time of pseudo-peace, it's only going to be a veil. That may very well be what we're in right now, despite the cycle of violence that keeps taking over the kingdoms."

"Atlas is not by any means innocent," Cristal sighed. "But that doesn't mean we can't be better. Pseudo-peace would be good enough, wouldn't it?"

"It would be," Karissa agreed. "And the alternative…"

"The downfall of us all," Emmett said, looking worriedly to his wife. "How likely do you think that is, Emmy?"

"I…" Emmeline shook her head. "I don't know. I just don't."

"How can we?" Cristal questioned. "For all of our power, our connections, our money, our psychitity…we're human."

"And that can be a dangerous thing," Karissa said, resting her head on Spencer's shoulder. "Because we're still playing a dangerous, dangerous game…"

* * *

Natalie Ciel kept biting at her lip as the transport landed at Beacon. There was a feeling she could not quite place, but it was nagging at her. Somewhere in between anxiety and exhilaration lay her current state of mind. Everything was changing so fast, and what made that harder to swallow was that she felt as if everyone was watching her. A Ciel. Power. Money. Connections. She tried to convince herself that it was silly to assume that people knew who she was, because her family, for all of it, was not the most talked about and her part of it was most certainly not. Nevertheless, she was uncomfortable. In part, that may have been because when she had attempted to get her father to talk about what happened to Emmeline and who Varna was beyond the basics and what she was truly after, he had told her she shouldn't worry. That was never going to happen. Her silver eyes, amongst other things, set her apart and, despite having snapped at her father before she left much earlier in the day from the city of Atlas, she missed them all. Matt and his snide comments, Perce and his sense of humor, Luna and her adorableness as a six-year-old. Everything felt wrong.

"Hey…" A girl with golden blonde hair said, tapping Natalie's shoulder. "You okay?"

"Why do you care?" Natalie snapped. "I'm nobody."

The girl took a step back. "I mean…aren't we all?"

Natalie considered that. "Where are you from?"

"Originally?" The girl asked. "Vacuo. I've been living in Atlas for only a few months now."

Natalie raised an eyebrow. "Vacuo?"

"Yes," The girl said. "I'm Alice Carrington."

Natalie shrugged. "Carrington?"

Alice nodded slowly. "Yeah, my dad is the brother of the –"

"I get it," Natalie said with a half-smile. "What about your mom?"

Alice shifted. "Well…I haven't spent a whole lot of time with my mom because she's always working but my dad lives in Atlas so…"

"Okay," Natalie said. "I bet life was pretty rough in Vacuo."

Alice looked at her in confusion. "Why?"

Natalie sighed. "Because of your kingdom's prime minister being the kind of person that she is."

Alice bit her lip, keeping quiet. "She's not that bad."

Natalie scowled. "Varna is a killer."

Alice stared at her. "No, she's not."

"Are you blind?" Natalie exclaimed. "She –"

"That was an accident," Alice told her. "It was for show, she wasn't really trying to shoot anyone."

"She shot my aunt just a few weeks ago!" Natalie stared at her incredulously. "And she killed Glynda Goodwitch –"

"Excuse me," A tall man with a quick voice and green hair said. "You knew Glynda Goodwitch?"

Natalie turned around and stared at him in surprise.

"Uh, yes…" Natalie said nervously. "Who are you?"

"Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck," He said. "I'm a –"

"You're the brother of Dr. Brianna Oobleck, aren't you?" Natalie asked. "My grandfather's most trusted advisor?"

Dr. Oobleck stared at her in confusion for a moment.

"You're a Ciel?" He eventually said. "The granddaughter of President Edward Ciel?"

Natalie nodded. "My parents are Spencer and Arianna Ciel."

"Isn't Arianna Ciel dead?" Alice looked at her confusion. "I thought she had died years ago."

"She had," Natalie said with gritted teeth. "But my dad's wife is not my mother."

"Miss Ciel," Oobleck said kindly. "We can talk later if you like. I believe Professor Ozpin recommended that you have someone to talk with beside him."

Natalie sighed. "Alright."

Alice placed a hand on her shoulder as Oobleck stepped towards the Academy's CCTS Tower in deep thought.

"I'm sorry if I upset you," Alice said, remembering her mother's orders to get in the head of one of the younger Ciels. "I'm sure things haven't been easy for you."

Natalie rubbed her neck. "Believe me when I say that they haven't."

"What's your family like?" She asked her. "It sounds as if you don't like your step-mother very much."

"No, I like her," Natalie said, adjusting her bags on her shoulders. "I just can't view her as my mother. She's more of like a government official that I like and care about."

"What about your dad?" Alice pressed ignore call on her scroll as it went off with a communication from her mother in Vacuo. "Are the two of you close?"

Natalie bit her lip. "Well, yes, but we've had a lot of fights because of my…temper and issues with Karissa."

"Karissa…Mar, right?" Alice said, and Natalie nodded. "My dad talks about her accomplishments a lot. I guess his sister works with her. Being the head of the DFACR and all."

"Karissa is nice enough, and she's intelligent, and she and my dad love each other," Natalie blew on her short hair as she continued to walk. "I guess that's good enough for me."

"So, are you just an only child?" Alice glanced at her scroll for a moment before looking back to Natalie. "Or do you have siblings?"

"I have three siblings," Natalie told her. "But my baby sister…who turned six on the twenty first of February…is only a half sibling. She's Karissa's daughter. My brothers and I have the same mom. But, you know, dad remarried and just had to –"

"Are you bitter?" Alice looked at her in half-genuine concern. "You sound a bit like you are."

"No, of course not," Natalie said honestly, then sighing heavily. "I just feel bad and have never really gotten over my mom's death…even though I was pretty young when she died."

Alice considered that. "I know I'd be pretty cut up if I lost my mom too…even if I'm closer with my dad."

Natalie was silent for a moment before embracing her. "Sorry if that was over the line."

Alice shook her head. "Can I see your scroll?"

Natalie handed it to her. "Sure."

Alice quickly entered her contact information into her scroll.

"I'll see you later," Alice told her with a smile, handing her back her scroll. "Hopefully we'll be on the same team."

Natalie nodded as she walked off in the other direction. "Same."

Alice waited for a long moment – until she was sure that Natalie was out of earshot and that she was as alone as she could possibly be – before reaching for her own scroll and calling her mother back.

"That was terrible timing," Alice informed her as soon as Varna picked up. "I was in the middle of getting an in with Natalie Ciel."

Rosalinde clicked her tongue. "Alice…"

"What do you want me to say?" She asked her. "I did what you told me to –"

"Only the first step," Rosalinde said sharply. "And you know full well that your dad's angry at me for sowing discourse in the kingdom of Atlas."

Alice groaned. "Mom, you can't just go around killing or shooting people!"

"Believe me, if I could get away from having to do it, I would," She snapped. "But you know just as well as I do that Salem demands that I do things and, if I don't do them, she'll kill me."

"I don't want that to happen, I just don't want you to make things worse for yourself," Alice said, glancing around nervously. "You know how the kingdom of Atlas and its officials feel about you."

"I…" Varna sighed heavily. "I don't even know what to do. I've got orders, and, for all of my power in Vacuo, I'm going to be dead if I don't follow them."

"What's the worst Salem could do to all of us, aside from death?" Alice lowered her voice as she stepped closer to Beacon tower. "Being a Varna is bad enough for me because of her, what if –"

"Varna?" A voice said in slight confusion and concern, causing Alice to immediately shut off her scroll and turn around anxiously. "Rosalinde Varna?"

Alice shook her head, her violet eyes wide. "No, I'm…I'm Alice…Alice Varna."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "I think we may have a lot to discuss."

Alice swallowed hard. "Of course…"


	102. Chapter 102

_**March 13th**_

 _ **Beacon Academy CCTS Tower**_

 _ **Beacon Academy**_

 _ **City Of Vale**_

 _ **Vale**_

 _ **Downtown**_

 _ **6:53 PM**_

"Let me explain," Ozpin said, clasping his hands together as he leaned forward against his desk. "I understand that this is a difficult situation for all of us."

Cristal stepped behind his desk and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Oz, we've discussed this. We can act…we just have to."

"What exactly does that mean?" Karissa glanced to Spencer as she spoke. "I thought it was pretty well-established that there's not really anything we can do about Salem."

"That's not true," Ozpin said. "She can be sealed."

"What?" Elizabeth scowled. "That makes no sense whatsoever, and you know it –"

"Eliza –" Blake started.

"Don't you even dare," She sent him a dark look. "I mean that, Blake."

"Well," Ruby said under her breath to Weiss. "It seems like things are awkward once more."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I never thought that being back here would mean a lot of fighting."

"It's worse when you consider that pretty much everyone here is part of the security council in Atlas," Blake muttered as the others continued to rampage back and forth. "Also, makes me wonder how they get anything down."

"That's an understatement," Qrow remarked dryly. "Especially since –"

"Qrow," Winter elbowed him sharply. "Please don't."

"Please don't be right?" He asked. "Is that what you're asking, Win?"

She sighed. "Qrow…"

"Alright," He said. "I'll stop."

"They won't," Yang said, fighting back ill-advised laughter. "They'll go at this for hours if they can."

"Elizabeth –" Blake began once more.

"I swear to god, Blake," Emmeline said tiredly. "Let it go."

He and Elizabeth scowled at each other.

"If she will first," Blake replied. "Since she's –"

"Blake," Allison said, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it gently. "Please."

He looked to her, but then nodded. "Alright, Allie."

Elizabeth gestured towards them in exasperation. "If people could just take orders –"

"Elizabeth," Ozpin said gently. "I know that you're used to people having no choice but to do what you tell them, but this is different."

"Well –" Cristal started, sharing a knowing look with Elizabeth.

"You two are dangerous force," Emmett remarked, smirking at both his sister and Elizabeth. "I don't want to see a formal partnership between the two of you."

Elizabeth smiled a bit in spite of herself. "Amusing, Emmett."

"I try," He replied, pressing a gentle kiss to Emmeline's cheek. "Don't I?"

"Sometimes too hard," She said, then shaking her head. "But I love you regardless."

"I love you too," Emmett said. "And at least it's just your arm now that –"

"So," Qrow said, sending Emmett a sharp look. "How exactly are we going to go about defeating Salem?"

Ozpin hesitated, sharing a long look with Cristal.

"I've managed to pinpoint her location in Mistral," He said slowly. "But we're going to have to be…especially careful. She's got more than a few of her allies permanently or close to permanently with her –"

"And with Cinder having been disappeared recently –" Emmeline started darkly.

"Something we all have more than a few questions about –" Ronnie added.

"Oh, get over yourselves!" Qrow exclaimed, staring at all of them in shock. "You care so damn much about detaining people and upholding whatever standard Atlas has to uphold, and yet –"

"Qrow –" James began irritably.

"You're all terrible people," He snapped. "You've all been through a lot, and I feel bad for you, but you're all full of yourselves! You and Elizabeth don't care so long as your lives are preserved, Blake and Allison have to deal with her daddy issues, Emmeline and Emmett are targeted but have more money than I've ever seen in my life, Cristal's the CEO of a major company and yet acts like she's got a shitshow of a life, Brianna had more than just a hand in the disaster involving Penny, Karissa's hopelessly arrogant about her power as the head of the DFAMA, and, of course, Ronnie cheated on –"

"And this," Elizabeth snapped. "Is proof that you have no shame or decency –"

"Oh, that's a bridge too far –" Qrow started.

"How is that a bridge too far?" Karissa scowled at him even as Spencer tried to give her a reassuring squeeze. "You're the one who was just attacking all of us!"

"Maybe your egos could use a few hits," Qrow replied. "Maybe –"

"Qrow, stop it," Yang snapped, her eyes turning red. "We're all in enough pain without dealing with more problems amongst ourselves!"

He stared at his niece for a moment in shock.

"You…" He shook his head. "You're so much like your mother."

Yang crossed her arms. "Maybe I need to be."

"The point…" Cristal started irritably, subtly making a decidedly angered gesture at Qrow with her finger as she went on. "Is that if we weaken Salem down to a near human state, she can be sealed in a…Pandora's box of sorts."

A heavy silence fell over the room as they all considered that.

"The question is," Spencer said a bit hesitantly. "What would happen if it were ever opened."

"It won't be able to be," Ozpin told him, and he sighed. "But it will be a constant source of negative energy for the grimm to rally around. She'll never be able to escape, for all intents and purposes she'll be dead, but she'll still be omitting her aura. And that is…"

"Will it end this?" Elizabeth questioned. "Will it finally let us have a chance to end this once and for all?"

Ozpin nodded. "Yes, it will."

"We should take this," Emmeline said resolutely. "There's no point in waiting anymore…not if we could lose it all either way."

"That's a happy thought," Ronnie remarked dryly. "But you're right."

"And how exactly are we going to do this?" Brianna asked. "Some of us can't or don't know how to fight."

"I know," Ozpin said, sighing heavily as he looked worriedly to Cristal. "And we'll take that into account."

"Still on the edge," Elizabeth said softly. "Still a dangerous game…"

"That's an understatement," Karissa said, resting her head on Spencer's shoulder as he rubbed her back. "And I don't want to think about the implications of all of this."

"None of us do," Ozpin said, standing up and wrapping an arm tightly around his wife. "But it might be our only chance at peace."

"Because that's something we've ever known," James said. "Of course."

"We're never going to have peace," Elizabeth said, crossing her arms. "There's always going to be a new threat."

"But that threat will never be quite as strong," Ozpin reminded her, and she sighed. "And we need whatever we can get."

"I suppose," She said, watching as the transports continued to fly outside. "But nothing is ever going to be the same…"

* * *

"I'm going to be honest," Bella Alps said, leaning back against her bed and flicking her knife towards the ceiling and then catching it flawlessly. "I like you, but the fact that you're a Ciel…it creeps the be-Jesus out of me."

Natalie scowled. "So, if I were anyone else –"

"I'd feel less like I need to walk on eggshells around you," She said, then shaking her head. "Your family…I looked you guys up after we were placed on a team together, and I'm not sure how I feel about all of this consolidated power you have. I'm from Mistral, and, there –"

"Who cares," Esme Vane rolled her eyes. "I'm from Atlas too, and it's not as if the Ciels are corrupt. Frankly, no one ever really hears about them…unless something that is absolutely explosive happens. The only one people care about is Edward Ciel, since he's the president."

"Still," Bella said. "Power and money are a dangerous combination."

Alice shifted awkwardly, trying, in vain, to push aside her conversation almost two weeks previously with Ozpin.

"I hold nothing against you because of your mother," He had told her as she had sat and he had paced. "But you're in a precarious position. I feel very comfortable assuming that your mother trained you and pushed you to come here for a motive I can't discern. But you don't have to be her."

Alice had stared at her hands. "Who's to say I'm not like her?"

"You don't strike me as a killer," He had replied. "You're not shifty like her, and you don't seem as quick to anger."

Alice had sighed. "I'm not her, but I'm protecting her. I'm doing something that she told me I have to do in order to preserve all of us. Otherwise…otherwise She will kill us."

Ozpin had raised an eyebrow. "She?"

"You know who I'm talking about," Alice had snapped. "Don't make me say it. I'm damn terrified of this woman as it is."

"Salem," Ozpin had said simply. "Miss Varna, I hope you know that she's not going to be a threat forever."

"You can't defeat her," Alice had shaken her head ruefully. "I know you can't."

"Not personally," Ozpin had admitted. "But there are ways to –"

"I hope you're right," Alice had said dryly. "Because it seems like we're damned either way."

"Alice?" Bella snapped her fingers in front of the other woman's face. "Are you alright? You seem off to the clouds."

She bit her lip. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "Right, you're from Atlas too even though you've spent some time in Vacuo with a mother you've been squeamish about. Sorry, Carrington, I forgot that your family has a lot of power and money too."

Alice stood up angrily, clenching her fists. "Go fuck yourself –"

"Alice, calm down!" Natalie exclaimed, grabbing her by the wrists but flinching slightly upon seeing Alice's fingers sparking. "What's that?"

"Nothing," Alice snapped, jamming her hands into her pockets and trying to hide her powers as a sorceress, powers that she had gained from her mother branding her with moon glyph of power. "Absolutely nothing."

Natalie, Bella, and Esme stared at her in both concern and befuddlement.

"You're even weirder than Natalie," Bella remarked dryly. "At least she's open with us. Who are you, really? What the hell are you hiding?"

Alice hesitated, but then ran out of the room while pulling her hoodie further over her face.

"I…" Natalie sighed as her other teammates left the room as well. "Alone. Again."

The door to the room opened slightly.

"Hey, sissy," Matt said, sauntering into the room with Percival and Luna following him. "Took awhile to find you."

Natalie stared at them. "Why exactly are you here?"

"We stole a transport," Percival said, letting out a brief yelp upon being elbowed by Matthew. "Okay, so we didn't."

"Mommy and daddy are here!" Luna exclaimed happily. "They're talking with Ozpin, and Chrissy, and Eliza, and James, and Emmy, and Emmett!"

Natalie shrugged. "You're cute."

Luna grinned. "I'm very cute!"

"Yeah, you're six," Percival ruffled his little sister's dark curls. "Of course you're cute."

"Mommy seemed sad," Luna said, pouting as she sat down. "And she kept holding daddy."

Matt grimaced a bit. "Luna, you know dad was in the hospital last week."

"Why?" She looked at him in confusion. "And why was he so sleepy?"

"He just was," Matt told her, and Natalie nodded subtly. "Okay?"

Luna nodded. "Okay…"

"Dad was having a hard time when mom left on a business trip," Percival told Natalie under his breath. "And he…snapped the night she came back. Matt had found him pretty shortly after he'd passed out, and he called the paramedics…but…"

"I know," Natalie said, biting her lip. "That's scary."

"He hadn't had one in almost a year, just about," Percival sighed. "At least, I think that's right. Either way, when mom got home, Matt had to tell her what happened she looked like she was going to faint."

Natalie rubbed her neck anxiously, trying to distract herself.

"She was just glad he was alright," Matt interjected. "But it was still bad, and mom is really worried about his relapses."

"He was sober for two years after Luna was born," Natalie reminded them. "Maybe –"

"Nattie, you know things have been getting worse," Matt said, glancing at Luna as she doodled in a sketchbook. "And we all should be really worried about this."

She glanced out the window at the activities below. "I know…"

"Nattie?" Percival said nervously. "Are you okay?"

She was silent for a long moment before shaking her head.

"I think it's clear enough by now that I'm not," She said. "I think it's clear enough by now that I'm nothing more or less than a freak accident."

"You're not a freak accident," Matt said, rolling his eyes. "You can be a pain in the ass, but you're still our sister, and you're still cool."

"Cool?" Natalie raised an eyebrow. "I've never been called that before."

"I don't want to think about some of the things you've been called before," Matt replied. "People are assholes."

"Yeah, they are," Alice said, stepping back into the room and pausing awkwardly. "Umm…who exactly are all of you?"

"Matthew Ciel," He said, taking her hand and affecting a bow before kissing it. "At your service."

Alice stared at him in confusion. "What?"

"A girl as pretty as you has got to have been told that before, have you not?" Matt smiled. "If not, I'm more than happy to be the first."

Alice pulled her hand away. "You don't want to get involved with me."

"Because I'm a Ciel?" Matt suggested. "Or because I'm so hot?"

"Because of me," She said, her voice shaking. "None of you have any idea who I am –"

"Nattie," Luna said anxiously, tugging on her sister. "That girl scares me."

"Luna –" Natalie started irritably.

"You look kind of familiar," Percival said. "Not a whole lot of people have vibrant, violet eyes either. I swear, you –"

"I'm Atlesian," She informed him, then pausing. "Well, not that you asked, but…I am. I'm Alice Carrington."

"That doesn't sound right," Percival said, glancing nervously to Natalie. "Your face…it's unsettling...unsettlingly familiar…"

* * *

"Rosalinde Diana Varna," Watts smirked as he all but ripped open the door to her office with Tyrion following him. "I see you have not changed one bit. Not much of a surprise, considering your…nature."

Varna scowled as she looked up, her hand tightening around her pen for a moment. "There is a part of me…" She started. "That wants to take this pen, and jab it straight through your neck."

"You are half the darkness," Watts laughed. "So much like your father, I imagine."

Varna stood up suddenly, clenching her fists. "I never even knew him."

"And yet you have no problems threatening to murder me anyways," Watts shrugged. "I suppose, considering your record, I'm a lucky man."

Varna activated her powers as a sorceress, summoning a small ball of fire into her hand.

"I could use my magic right here and right now to remove your tongue," She reminded him irritably. "And, believe me, the appeal of doing such is not lost on me."

"I believe that," Watts said silkily. "Tyrion might be a better target, though."

Tyrion raised his stinger threateningly. "How can you –"

"Enough," Varna snapped, putting up a hand to silence them. "What have I told you two before about not pissing me off?"

"You've always been easy to piss off," A voice familiar to only her said as he stepped into the room. "But, for some reason, that's never been a turn off."

Rose softened visibly in spite of herself. "Mark? I had no idea you were going to be here."

"I had no idea I was going to be here either," He replied. "But I wanted to see you."

"Why?" Rose raised an eyebrow. "That look doesn't seem good."

"It's not," He told her. "I missed you, Rose, but I know you're pushing Alice into a position that she doesn't want to be in."

She scoffed. "Oh, please –"

"Rose, she told me that she's scared," Mark sent her a sharp look. "And that worries me."

She sighed heavily. "What do you want me to say? We all have to do things to survive –"

"And you're acting especially…" Mark shook his head. "Rose, what happened to you? All of the murders, or attempted murders, not to mention the –"

"She's always been a basket case," Watts informed him, eliciting an irritated look from the man. "You know that."

"I'm not going to respond," Mark replied. "Because –"

"Because why?" Tyrion asked slyly. "Because you know that the woman you sleep with is absolutely insane?"

"No, not insane," Mark said slowly. "But dangerously power hungry."

Rose narrowed her eyes. "But isn't that attractive?"

"To be honest, it's terrifying," Mark said, glancing around her office. "But I can't seem to stay away from you."

Varna smirked. "Isn't that funny."

"Still terrifying," Mark said. "I'm in love with the devil."

Varna crossed her arms as she leaned haphazardly against her desk.

"Yes, you are," She said shamelessly. "And I would have thought you'd have figured that out sooner."

Mark flinched upon her summoning ropes and tying them around his wrists.

"You're not leaving," She informed him. "No going back to Atlas, and certainly no talking to Addison…I don't trust your sister or her colleagues in the slightest."

Mark stared at her. "You've got to be kidding me."

"You know I don't play games," Varna said, sighing heavily. "And I need to protect myself."

"You don't need to," Watts sneered. "Some of us would find this world to be a bit more in their favor –"

"Not including you," Varna snapped. "You need me alive, and you know it."

Watts took a step back. "Well, I suppose –"

"Listen to me," She said, her voice lowering to a deadly one. "I have no qualms about killing you. You, Arthur Watts –"

"Doctor –" He started.

"Your title was revoked," She taunted. "And, nevertheless, you are expendable."

Watts scowled. "And you're not?"

She gestured to the rest of her office. "I have an entire kingdom under my thumb, I have more power than you could ever dream of –"

"And you're desperate to cling to it," Watts shook his head. "You don't know who you are, do you?"

She narrowed her eyes, deactivating her powers but not releasing any of them.

"Really?" She replied. "Do any of you know who you are either?"


	103. Chapter 103

_**March 21st**_

 _ **City Of Atlas**_

 _ **Atlas**_

 _ **Downtown**_

 _ **9:08 PM**_

"Dad," Ronnie said, looking nervously to Brianna as he paced. "I'm telling you, all of this –"

"Ozpin is playing with something he can't control," Edward said. "Protecting Rosalinde Varna's daughter is –"

"She's innocent, Edward," Brianna said, probing her forehead tiredly. "There's nothing we can hold against her; the girl hasn't done anything."

"Mark Carrington hasn't been seen in over a week," Edward reminded her. "And his last communications indicated that he wanted to keep his daughter safe from the movements Varna wants her involved in."

"That doesn't mean the girl has done anything," Brianna countered. "She's an innocent child –"

"She's a seventeen-year-old whose personal text messages are concerning," Edward replied. "We were able to pull those too –"

"I agree that they're concerning, and we should keep an eye on her," Ronnie said as calmly as he could manage. "But taking action against her –"

"The DFAMA is considering it," Edward informed him. "Elizabeth is particularly fond of the idea."

Ronnie sighed. "Of course she is."

Brianna raised an eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean that Elizabeth is a bit vengeful," Ronnie said, and she sighed. "And I'm sure that she'd love the opportunity to have a hostage style negotiation with Varna."

"That's not fair," Edward said a bit sharply. "For all of her faults, Elizabeth has presented more than rational and appropriate reasons to track her and, should something appear that will show her to be involved with her mother's actions, to bring her before the kingdom for conspiracy to commit."

Brianna bit her lip. "Isn't that a bit harsh for a seventeen-year-old?"

"It's not up to me," Edward shook his head. "And, even if it were, I wouldn't hold the DFAMA or DCCCP back from issuing subpoenas for her testimony against her mother, or from prosecuting her."

"She's still just a child!" Brianna exclaimed. "Edward, is there nothing you can do to help this girl out?"

"There is quite a bit I could do, but it is not in my place to do so," Edward replied. "I don't feel fully at ease with any of this, and, to be honest, not even Elizabeth, Karissa, or James are. There's one person who is –"

"Blake Adel –" Brianna started in exasperation.

"Well, yes," Edward admitted. "But he has always been a hardliner about the law. He's always supported stringent mandatory minimums, etc. A lot of his policy decisions I personally support and agree with, but he's almost scarily at ease with the idea of pulling this girl for testimony against Varna, and he thinks that some of her text messages already indicate conspiracy."

Brianna rolled her eyes. "Oh, fuck him."

Ronnie stepped over to her, sitting down by her side, wrapping an arm tightly around her, and resting a hand semi-protectively over her curve.

"Brie," He eventually said. "Are you okay?"

She scowled. "Wrong question to ask me, Ronnie."

He sighed. "Sorry."

"When I said there was one person that supports this without hesitation, I hadn't meant Blake," Edward said, breaking the moment. "Because, at the end of the day, he's not trigger happy about it. On the other hand, the capital's top state prosecutor –"

"Kiara…" Ronnie groaned. "Of course."

"She does have a point," Edward said slowly. "But she's unsettlingly comfortable with it."

"Of course she is," Brianna muttered. "That bitch."

Ronnie awkwardly gave her a comforting squeeze.

"The fact of the matter remains that we don't know what Varna is trying to do, not beyond the basics that we've been able to glean from messages between her, Mark Carrington, and her daughter," Edward said. "And the most concerning part of it all is that Ozpin still has said nothing on the matter even though the girl is under his jurisdiction, at the moment, while she's at Beacon."

"Mark Carrington has always been a shifty character," Brianna said thoughtfully. "Frankly, I've never been fond of him. He used to work for the council, my department, but resigned shortly before the incident with the…PENNY Project happened. He used to flirt with me, actually."

Ronnie tensed. "I'm going to kill him."

"Ronnie," Brianna said, looking at him worriedly. "We have enough problems to deal with without you committing murder."

"Listen to her," Edward said, sending his son a sharp look. "You're more than lucky to have her, and, believe me, you're a better person with her."

Ronnie stared at his wedding ring, the all too familiar feeling of shame and repulsion towards himself rising again.

"Ronnie?" Brianna said hesitantly. "Is something wrong?"

"Always," He said quietly. "I've ruined our family, I've hurt you and Ryan, and our unborn child. I've redefined for the worst the legacy I was trying to make perfect, and I'm never going to be able to make it right. I love you so much, Brianna, and I'm going to spend the rest of my life sacrificing everything to make up for my mistakes – even if it means exploding my career or worse."

Brianna stared at him for a long moment.

"I know…" She finally said. "And I…I love you in spite of everything."

"Ronnie, sometimes you are too much like your mother for your own good," Edward told him, and he nodded weakly. "She was just as, if not more impulsive than you, and…and it cost her life. Let alone some of the other things that hurt her more than anyone else. Keeping everything quiet until she lost it, for one. You're more like her than any of us, and it shows in your nature, and in your temper."

Ronnie sighed. "I did snap on Kiara just the other day…which, in hindsight, really doesn't make me look good."

Brianna raised an eyebrow. "What exactly did you say to her?"

"She…" Ronnie shook his head. "She came into my office to tell me that she had heard you were taking this week off, and I got irritable, which caused her to ask why I was upset that she was wondering when she would get the ethics review of Blake Belladonna's actions in…well, to be honest, in quite a few matters. I…I told her that I don't like her going out of her way to upset you, and that I want nothing more or less than to protect you and to be the best possible husband I can be to you."

Brianna was silent for a long moment.

"I heard about that from her," She eventually said. "She was annoyed and told me to control your temper…something that I don't think was warranted in this situation."

Ronnie considered that. "Brie…"

"I really do love you, Ronnie," She said as she curled into him. "Honestly."

An uncomfortable silence held over them for a long moment.

"What are we going to do?" He said, dejection rising in his tone. "We're barely able to do anything anymore, we might die from this…"

"That might not be a question we want answered," Edward cautioned him. "Especially with the ways so many things have turned."

"There might be someone who knows," Brianna said hesitantly. "Two someones, actually."

Ronnie stared at her. "Caitlin and Casseia?"

Brianna nodded. "They're the only people in this century who have been able to ask the Relic anything…and they've never told us what they truly learned from it other than 'Varna cannot be trusted'."

Edward considered that. "Do we really want to ask them?"

Ronnie swallowed hard. "I do."

* * *

"Seriously, Perce," Matt said, staring at the ceiling. "She's so hot."

Percival groaned. "Matt, it was kind of cute at first, but your thing for Alice Carrington is just getting weird. I mean, even she told you to your face that you don't want to get involved with her."

"But I do," Matt said, rolling his eyes at his brother. "And did you see how she blushed? Or the fact that she gave me her scroll's number? She likes me."

Percival sighed. "That's more than clear, but she clearly also thinks that you're going to regret it if you get involved with her."

Matt shrugged. "I don't think that will happen."

"What if she's a dominatrix?" Percival asked him. "What if she's into weird, Fifty Shades Of Grey style shit?"

Matt considered that. "I think I'd still let her hit it."

Percival grimaced. "That's disgusting."

"What can I say?" Matt said with a faint smirk. "I'm a slut."

"You've never even had sex," Percival exclaimed, although his look quickly turned to disgust upon the look his brother sent him. "You're joking. Who? You're only a few years older than me, since you're sixteen –"

"It was a few months ago," Matt said dismissively. "With that girl I was dating. Paris."

Percival stared at him in shock. "You had sex with Paris?"

"At her place!" Matt said, a bit exasperated. "And her parents weren't home –"

"Our parents will kill you if they find out," Percival told him. "I'm not sure who will be more pissed off – mom or dad."

"Dad," Matt said almost immediately. "Mom will be annoyed, but she's not going to lecture me over it, or demand to know what I was thinking. She'll realize that I wasn't thinking, and that things just happen. Dad's dad. He's not going to get it."

Percival looked at him funny. "Why?"

"Because I guarantee you that he's only ever slept with two people, and after they were married," Matt shrugged. "I told you I'm a slut."

"You've had sex once," Percival said, and Matt scowled. "And only with one girl. I don't think that you're that level yet. Unless you're secretly a gay prostitute."

"Believe me," Matt said. "I'm definitely not gay."

Percival laughed. "Oh, I've always known that. You've always talked about girls you thought were cute or you thought liked you."

Matt yawned dramatically. "I'm glad that's clear."

"Look," Percival said, gesturing to his brother's scroll. "Why don't you call her? Tell her you want an answer for as to why she's so –"

"Hi!" Luna yelled excitedly, running into the room in her pyjamas with her dark curls flying out behind her. "I got you two!"

Matt smiled, standing up and coming over to his little sister, ruffling her hair. "You're adorable."

Luna grinned. "I know!"

"Is Luna –" Spencer sighed as he stepped into the room. "You found them?"

"I just got out of the shower!" The six-year-old exclaimed proudly. "I got all the soap out of my hair myself!"

Spencer nodded. "Well, that explains the trail of water coming from the bathroom."

"Is mom going to be home soon?" Percival asked him. "Or does she have to work late?"

Spencer glanced at the time on his scroll. "I thought –"

"Spence?" Karissa called from down the hall. "There's something that we need to talk about."

Spencer sighed heavily, rubbing his neck. "Down here!" He called back.

Luna started bouncing happily. "Mommy's home!"

Percival glanced to Matt, who was smiling as he texted on his scroll. "If you're texting your girlfriend, you can call her."

"What girlfriend?" Spencer raised an eyebrow. "And is she…not creepy, clean record –"

"What are you talking about?" Karissa asked, smiling a bit in spite of herself as she stepped into the room and wrapped an arm gently around him. "Should I be concerned?"

"That's what we all want to know," Spencer said, sending Matt a sharp look. "Are you dating Paris again?"

Matt shook his head. "She cheated on me, that's a no."

"She slept with someone else?" Percival exclaimed, then starting to laugh. "You deserved that one –"

"I'm not going to ask," Spencer said, then motioning to Luna. "And not in front of your little sister."

Luna pouted. "I don't get it."

"Something we're all glad for," Karissa said as her daughter embraced her. "At least for right now, Luna. You're still little, and, in many ways, you're lucky for that."

The little girl nodded. "I'm going to sleep."

"Alright," Karissa said, sharing a look with Spencer. "We'll check on you in a few minutes."

Luna skipped out of the room happily, shutting the door behind her.

"'Rissa," Spencer said gently. "What is it? You look worried."

"Well, I got some…news that affects us all," She said, and Spencer's eyes went wide. "And –"

"Are you pregnant again?" Spencer asked her. "'Rissa, honey –"

"No, I'm not," She said, then shaking her head. "It's not good, Spence, if that tells you anything."

Matt looked at them in confusion. "Are we in danger because of the White Fang?"

"Well…" Karissa hesitated as she went on. "One of Natalie's teammates is most certainly not who she says she is, let alone…innocent."

"I bet it's that Esme chick," Matt said, and Percival groaned. "She rubbed me the wrong way."

"It's Alice Carrington," Karissa corrected, and Matt's face fell into a war between confusion and shock. "Or, to be more precise, Alice Rosalie Carrington-Varna."

"Varna?" Matt questioned, his voice shaking. "That's impossible –"

"Matt –" Karissa started.

"She's nothing like that monster!" Matt exclaimed. "She's kind, thoughtful –"

"And your girlfriend," Percival said. "I guess that's what she was trying to hide."

"What?" Spencer stared at them both. "If that's not a sick joke –"

"Of course it's not!" Matt buried his face in his hands. "She can't be, she's not –"

"Her text messages between her and her parents suggest that the three of them are involved in some sort of conspiracy," Karissa told him. "And that it –"

"I want to hear that from her," Matt said stubbornly, reaching for his scroll. "I want to hear it from her."

Spencer moved to take his scroll and protect his son, but Karissa placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Let him," She told him gently. "What's the harm in knowing the truth?"

"Allie?" Matt said as the line clicked in answer. "Can we talk?"

Alice sighed. "That's cute, Matt."

"You don't like the nickname?" He asked, then sighing heavily. "Sorry, I –"

"What is it?" She said. "Matt?"

"Please, please tell me that you're not involved in a conspiracy," He said, his voice shaking. "Or that you're Rosalinde Varna's daughter. My mom keeps saying you are, but I –"

"I can't," Alice said, her voice breaking. "I told you to leave me alone, that you'd regret it. We barely know each other, Matt. This is a good…a good reason to listen when someone, especially someone you barely know, tells you that you're better off without them…"

The line clicked dead, and Matt's hands shook as he set down his scroll.

"You were…" He looked to Karissa, his eyes wide and tears rising. "Right. You're…I'm such a –"

"I'm sorry –" She started.

"Don't be," Matt said, then biting his lip. "Maybe I needed a cut…"

* * *

"Caity," Elizabeth said, embracing her daughter tightly. "How are you feeling?"

She sighed heavily. "Shitty. I don't think my medicine is helping that much, and I…"

Elizabeth looked at her in concern. "What is it?"

"Honey," Cas said, sitting down beside her wife and wrapping an arm around her. "You refused to talk much about this beyond apologizing."

"I know," Caitlin said, staring at her hands. "My dad kept telling me yesterday to stop apologizing because it's not my fault, and that I'm doing everything I can to get better."

"And I've told you that too," Elizabeth said, looking at her worriedly. "So, what is it?"

"I just don't even know why I'm trying," She said softly. "I don't want to have this shit seen; I don't want to be the reason everyone is concerned. I just want to control myself, and to keep everything that pains me quiet or…or carved into my mind or…or skin."

Elizabeth glanced at her daughter's left hand and stared at the bright pink line on it.

"Oh god," She said, paling slightly. "Caitlin –"

"Eliza –" James started, pausing awkwardly. "Emmeline? Emmett? Cas? Caitlin?"

"Not exactly a happy time," Emmett said dryly, adjusting his glasses. "I'll call it the opposite."

James bit his lip. "Oh."

"Caitlin," Elizabeth said, taking her daughter's hand for a brief moment. "I don't care your intentions. I just want you to know that my self-hatred never took me where I wanted to go and, at the end of the day, you know I still had to face it. I can pick up the pain, but I can't cut it away. And you know what else I can't do? I can't give you 10 good reasons not to. All I can say is that you're my daughter, so many people care about and love you, and I don't want to watch you drown."

She stared at her and then curled into Cas, starting to cry even as her wife tried to comfort her. "I'm sorry for everything…"

Cas glanced at her scroll as it started to go off. "Caity, why don't we take some time to ourselves? We can pack some bags and go to Vale for a little while. It's not as if you and I can't work remotely."

She hesitated but nodded. "Alright, fine."

There was silence for almost a minute after they had left the apartment.

"Elizabeth?" Emmeline said gently. "Are you okay?"

She sighed. "I…I don't know what to tell her…"

"Eliza…" James said, stepping over to her and giving her a gentle squeeze. "Please relax."

She shook her head. "No, I have enough that I need to do, that I need to fix –"

"We all do," Emmeline reminded her. "But falling apart isn't going to help."

"I know," She snapped. "But who knows how many weeks we have left? Who knows what's going to happen with all of this? With this war that we know we can't win?"

Emmeline sighed heavily. "I can't let this lie without fighting back."

"I can't fight," She told her. "You know I'm not a fighter. Not like that."

"We're going to have to face it either way," Emmeline countered. "Whether or not we're there when she's destroyed, we're still involved. We've all had a hand in this for years."

Elizabeth rubbed her arm, pushing away the memories of the torture she endured.

"I think we've had more than just a hand in this," Emmett said, taking her hand in his and squeezing it tightly. "Didn't your dad say just the other day that he thinks we've been pulling the strings for a long time?"

Emmeline nodded. "My father and I have our disagreements, but that's not one of them."

"Reasonably so," James remarked, holding Elizabeth close. "All things considered."

"That's an understatement," Elizabeth said dryly. "But I understand it."

"It does raise a lot of questions," Emmeline said slowly. "But that doesn't make it any less true. Whether or not it was for better or worse, we're not going to be able to change what we've done."

"We've been on the right side of all of this –" Emmett started.

"I know," Emmeline said softly. "But who's to say that there's not still more to unearth regarding any of us? Regarding the things we've done?"

"That's foreboding," James said, glancing to Elizabeth. "Has your father said anything, Emmeline?"

She hesitated as Emmett squeezed her lovingly. "Well...yes, but he doesn't think that we're personally going to be targeted. We've managed to stop several would-be White Fang attacks, and we're close to catching Adam Taurus again. Still...we're in a terrible position. Besides that, the news of Mark Carrington and Varna having a daughter -"

"What bothers me on that is that Ozpin isn't doing anything about this girl," Elizabeth said irritably. "I know that she may be innocent, but if she's not being brought forward to explain the things that she is accused of…"

"It's an...uncomfortable reality," Emmeline said. "To say the very least…"


	104. Chapter 104

_**April 3rd**_

 _ **City Of Vacuo**_

 _ **Vacuo**_

 _ **Downtown**_

 _ **6:13 PM**_

"Madame Davis," The young assistant said almost breathlessly as she trailed the older woman through the complex of the Government Offices Of The Vacuoian Council. "Are you sure that this is a good idea?"

Kiara nodded shortly. "Not even Rosalinde Varna can escape the hand of the law."

The young woman sighed. "She's done a damn good job."

"That won't last," Kiara informed her. "Not with the Atlas Council standing so firm. We have absolutely nothing to worry about, Alexis."

She went silent as they paused in front of Varna's personal office.

"Should I…" She bit her lip. "Should I stay?"

Kiara considered that. "Well, there's always an inherent risk in that but you were trained as a huntress and have your weapon on you."

Alexis reached for her gun, hidden under her coat. "If you –"

"Stay, please," Kiara told her, and she nodded. "Now…"

Alexis carefully picked the lock almost silently as Kiara bypassed the primary security system through her scroll.

"Got it." She whispered.

Kiara swung open the door rather haughtily, her composure only tightening upon seeing Varna scowling at her and Alexis.

"It's been a long time," She said dryly. "You've changed quite a bit, Rosalinde."

"From what, might I ask?" She said, her voice uncannily steady. "I don't see myself as having changed much."

"You have," Mark said, stepping out from between the books. "But, in some ways, that's –"

"Interesting that I'd find you here," Kiara said, sending Mark a sharp look. "You are aware that you have made yourself an Atlesian national aiding and abetting one of the most dangerous, evil –"

"Evil?" Varna exclaimed. "Evil? You think I'm evil?"

"You've committed murder, been involved in multiple conspiracies, have no shame or remorse, killed journalists who reported the truth, and, furthermore, you've –" Kiara started.

"You have absolutely no idea what the word evil means," Varna hissed, standing up with her fists clenched. "Evil is what I've spent my entire life fighting against!"

"Rose –" Mark started pleadingly.

"No," She said, her voice a deadly whisper as she turned to Kiara with flaring violet eyes. "Evil is the woman that was running this kingdom fifteen years ago. Evil is pure and utter…"

 _"Do you even know what you're doing?" Fae Kyra rolled her eyes at the woman in front of her. "Rosalinde Diana Varna, nothing that I am doing in this kingdom is wrong."_

 _"I beg to differ," Rose said, her voice shaking in spite of herself. "You're killing the faunus –"_

 _"They're not like us," Fae said smoothly. "And they have no purpose aside from serving us, the rightful rulers of this world. Kingdoms like Vale and Atlas are enabling them to wreak their havoc –"_

 _"The White Fang is only a small portion of faunus," Rose exclaimed. "They're the only god-awful people who are faunus! Humans aren't innocent –"_

 _"We're still the rightful rulers," She replied. "Jacques Schnee has been more than cooperative in…turning a blind eye to what his kingdom would consider abuses here when it comes to Dust mining."_

 _Rose stared at her. "How can you not see that as wrong? How can you not see any of this as wrong?"_

 _"Rosalinde Diana Varna, listen to me and listen to me well," Fae said, a dark tone entering her voice. "You are teetering on the edge of making me your enemy, and the last thing that you want for yourself is that. Don't you have a daughter? Aren't you still close with her father? How would you feel if anything…ever happened to them?"_

 _Rose bit her lip. "You wouldn't dare."_

 _"I will do whatever it takes to bring this kingdom to prosperity and to put the others in this world in their place," A sadistic smile creeped onto her lips. "And you, while an esteemed member of the Council, have no say against anything I do."_

 _Rose stood up and burned a hole through the center of Fae's left hand with her powers as sorceress. "Who exactly should fear who?"_

 _Fae could not hide the fear from her eyes. "What are you?"_

 _"I am not going to let you kill people, I'm not going to let you subjugate anyone, and I'm not going to let you destroy everything so that you can have more and more power through your manufactured crisis!" Rose snapped. "Everything you're doing is wrong, evil, and I will spend the rest of my life, whether I outlive you or not, trying to be your antithesis."_

 _Fae scowled. "You're playing with fire when it comes to me."_

 _Rose went silent, her thoughts turning to Watts and what he had dragged her into._

 _"You know something?" She said, trying to push away her fear of Salem. "There are some fires that can be put out…and you're one of them."_

"You," Kiara said, breaking Varna back to the moment. "You are the incarnation of everything that you're claiming to condemn."

She clenched her fists. "No, I'm not –"

"Yes, you are!" Kiara snapped. "You take and take whatever it is that you please! You kill innocent people for the sake of making some stupid point! You keep a tight lid on your own people and claim that you're trying to protect them! You make your enemies or those that disparage you disappear! In what way are you different than Fae Kyra?"

She swallowed hard, steadying herself against her desk. "I'm actually protecting people. I've barely killed anyone. I don't step over the law for the sake of furthering myself."

Kiara shook her head. "You are so blinded."

"Madame Davis," Mark said irritably. "Stop it. Rose has done things that are absolutely horrible, but she's not an evil dictator like Fae Kyra was. I don't think our kingdom really has any idea of the things that she did to Vacuo, I really don't."

Kiara sent Alexis a sharp look. "You know what to do."

Alexis, too quickly to be stopped even by Varna's magic, knocked both her and Mark out with Dust. Then, she quickly placed aura cuffs around their wrists.

"They're not going to be able to escape," Alexis informed Kiara, who was calling their transport. "And, to be clear, the cuff will restrain her not only from using her aura and semblance, but her magic as well?"

Kiara nodded shortly. "Yes."

"Good," Alexis said, then crossing her arms. "The two of them have quite a bit to answer for."

Kiara sent her a sharp look. "Varna more so than Mark."

"True," Alexis shrugged. "But, at the same time, they're both probably involved in more than we know."

"That is more than likely," Kiara sighed as she glanced to the two on the floor. "But whether or not they let us have the information we need –"

"They will," Alexis said with half a smirk. "No one lies to the kingdom of Atlas…or, at least, gets away with it."

Kiara raised an eyebrow. "What exactly are you saying?"

Alexis sent her an almost bored look. "You know what I'm talking about. Our kingdom can have anything it wants, whenever it wants it. You should know that better than anyone. You've gotten genuine testimony out of some of the most resistant of people. Who is to say that we're weak?"

Kiara stared at her. "That's a dangerous precedent to set, Alexis."

"I know," She admitted. "But it's the truth nonetheless."

* * *

"Hmm…" Salem said, watching Alice Varna through her seer. "This girl continues to fascinate me."

"Why?" Victoria questioned. "Apart from being Rosalinde's girl."

Salem sent her a sharp look. "Victoria –"

"I'm not trying to overstep," She said shortly. "But Alice is weak."

"True," Salem said slowly. "But only in some ways. She is, nonetheless, powerful."

Cinder raised an eyebrow upon Alice embracing a small girl with spiky dark hair. "Who exactly is that?"

"Natalie Ciel," Salem said darkly. "Biologically, the child of Spencer and Arianna Ciel. But, seeing as you killed Arianna years ago…"

Cinder shrugged. "Arianna was a message that needed to be sent, although I think it could have been more impactful long-term if I had killed Emmeline instead."

"That would be more useful now that her husband is…found," Salem shook her head. "General Ciel is only be a prime target now because she's perhaps the most stable member of her family, and her husband would be horribly distraught if she were to die. It'd tear apart Ozpin's little group."

"Glynda's death did a pretty good job at that," Victoria noted. "None of them are in what I'd call a good place."

Salem waved towards her seer, beckoning it to show General James Ironwood and Elizabeth Morell.

"The two of them are a dangerous force," Salem reminded her. "And I will not take their…relationship lightly. She might not be able to fight, but she has quite a bit of connections and political power."

Watts scowled. "I have quite the bone to pick with Elizabeth Morell –"

"I'm sure you do," Salem said. "But, then again, don't you have issue with almost everyone in power in your kingdom?"

Watts went silent, unable to come up with a response.

"It's interesting to see how they've…changed," Salem finally said, breaking the silence. "And, yet, for all of their efforts, they remain terrified and divided. Mankind will crumble soon enough…whatever plans they have will not survive ours."

"You're not giving them enough credit," Watts told her, though he knew he was treading a dangerous line. "If my daughter and her husband are any indication of what the rest of them are capable of –"

"I am more aware that Allison and Blake Adel are formidable," Salem said, her voice uncomfortably calm. "And I am more than aware that the rest of them are formidable as well. That does not, however, mean we are without advantage."

Emerald looked up from her hands. "Is there something we can do to split them further apart?"

"Well," Salem said slowly. "We are going to let them find us. They're splitting themselves apart – I do not need to do anything to further that process."

Tyrion slumped forward in disappointment. "Of course."

"Now, Tyrion," Salem sent him a sharp look. "There is…one job in particular that I have for you. I want it done as soon as possible; do you understand me?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Anything, my Queen."

Salem smiled. "Kill Qrow Branwen."

Tyrion's stringer raised happily. "That will be quite fun."

"He'll be going alone," Salem said, looking primarily to Watts. "We cannot afford to have the kingdom of Atlas take our allies hostage again."

"Atlas will do whatever it damn well pleases," Watts reminded her, a dark note in his voice. "In large part because of its military, but also because it is the sole superpower left."

"Which does cause some…trouble for us," Salem agreed. "But that does not mean that we are stupid enough to play into the hands of its leaders."

Watts pursed his lips but did not respond.

"Now," Salem said, her nails tapping against the table. "Where is –"

"I'm here," Mercury said irritably, sauntering through the doors. "And I'm sorry I'm late, but I was getting information."

Salem motioned for him to sit down. "Information on what?"

"Atlas' plans for our little friend in Vacuo," He said dryly, and Salem raised an eyebrow. "I managed to hack into their transmissions – transport transmissions – and it sounds like Varna and Mark Carrington were arrested by Atlas."

Salem stared at him for a moment before angrily motioning towards her seer.

"Show me Varna…" She hissed.

The seer pulled forth an unconscious Varna on an Atlesian transport. Sitting near her was Kiara Davis, while a young woman kept a close watch on Varna – another was keeping watch on Carrington.

"No…" Salem's voice lowered to a deadly whisper. "How did this happen?"

"That I'm not clear on," Mercury informed her. "But it sounds like Varna and Carrington put up a fight. Apparently, Davis' assistant has ridiculous strength and is an ex-huntress or something along those lines. Either way…"

Salem dismissed her seer. "This is a terrible position for all of us to be in."

"That much is clear," Watts said. "Does this warrant a change in plan?"

Salem considered that, seething. "Perhaps."

"What exactly are we going to –" Victoria started.

"All of you," Salem snapped. "Get out…except for…Cinder."

The amber eyed woman looked down at her feet as the others left quickly.

"Without Vacuo under our thumb, we risk losing quite a bit," Salem said as soon as the doors slammed shut. "I need you…to find a way to get Varna out and bring her back here. We need her, and we need her power."

Cinder nodded shortly. "Anything else?"

"For now?" Salem smirked. "We'll see."

* * *

"In all honesty, I…" Ciel said, sighing heavily. "I don't know what to say about any of this."

"That's the thing, dad," Ronnie said dryly. "None of us do either."

"While I do agree that something needs to be done about Salem, and soon," Ciel started, trepidation clear in his voice. "I don't know if I'll ever be comfortable with the idea of Emmeline putting herself in danger for it. Emmett too."

Emmett gestured to the sword in his hands before tossing it up in the air and catching it perfectly.

"It'll be fine," He said, although he shared a worried look with his wife. "Emmy and I know how to fight."

Emmeline raised an eyebrow. "Setting aside the years you spent at Atlas Academy, since when do you fight? Emmett, you've spent most of your adult life as a COO, not as a huntsman."

"And?" He countered. "You spend more time in Council meetings than out in the field."

She scowled. "That is completely different –"

"How?" Karissa asked her. "He is right that you've taken far fewer field missions as General Ciel than you did before you were promoted."

Emmeline sighed. "That was years ago, and I think Cas was something like fourteen at the time. Either way –"

"It's been awhile since you've taken consistent field missions, let alone with that injured arm of yours," Karissa repeated. "Do you want me or Eliza to pull up the list of missions you've taken since then?"

Emmeline buried her face in her hands. "Don't call her and make her do that."

"I won't," Karissa said, wrapping an arm around Spencer and giving him a loving squeeze. "But that doesn't make me any less right."

"Regardless, I'm not that out of it," Emmeline told her. "Emmett, on the other hand –"

"Later," He said, placing a hand on her shoulder while also adjusting his glasses. "I think we've made enough of a scene."

She turned to him with an eyebrow raised. "We've?"

Emmett shrugged. "Ugh, fine, I've made enough of a scene."

"Something you're eerily good at," Ronnie remarked. "Dad's right, you're ridiculously flamboyant."

Emmett affected an exaggerated bow. "I take great pride in it."

Emmeline swatted his arm, mostly playfully. "You take too much pride in it."

"Ah, but, Emmy…" He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "You know I love you."

She smiled. "I love you too, even if you can be a bit of a dick."

"Understatement," Edward said. "You two are good for each other, but Emmett's ego could use more than a few hits."

Ronnie smirked as he pushed up his glasses. "I'll gladly take a few shots at that."

"Please don't," Brianna said tiredly. "Ronnie…"

"Sorry," He said, looking to her worriedly. "Brie, honey, it was just a joke."

She bit her lip. "I know."

"Are you okay?" Karissa sent her a sympathetic look. "I know things have been difficult, but –"

"I'm fine, Karissa," She snapped. "Okay?"

Tension was not unbroken that night between them. The world stood as it had for what felt like forever in a precarious balance. It was not, however, the lives of the Ciels that would be altered permanently that night. There was something in the air, a faint hint at the false security. While it was well into spring in Atlas, there was a certain woman, one that spent almost all of her time alone and often thought to be dead, that was in a permanent winter. The white-haired woman stared at herself loathingly in the mirror, cursing herself for all the times she let her husband manipulate and belittle her. She froze over the top of her dressing table for a moment only to quickly destroy the ice seconds later. She tensed upon hearing the door creak open, and she felt no less secure upon seeing the couple that stepped in.

"Hi, Willow," Cristal said nervously, twisting her white curls in her hands. "Are you doing alright?"

"You know I like to be left alone," She said shortly. "And, Ozpin, you know I'm not going to take part in your war."

He sighed. "Willow –"

"No," She said, standing up quicker than either of them had expected. "You have no idea how much I've always loathed having these powers. I never wanted them, and the only thing I've learned about them that's useful is that there is a way to bypass the age restriction, a way for me to choose my successor and still live."

Cristal stared at her. "What?"

"I've had a lot of time to think," She reminded her. "And time like that doesn't always do good things for the mind."

"Willow –" Cristal started.

"Dad would be so happy to see that things have worked out for you, and for Emmett," Willow said, glancing back to the mirror. "But I know he'd wonder what's become of me. Of course, your husband could always have him answer."

Ozpin stared at her in horror. "No."

"Why not?" Willow replied. "After all, maybe he could reason with my mother, maybe he could be –"

"That's wrong –" Ozpin protested.

"And it was right for you to bring back Emmett?" She countered, then gesturing towards her sister. "Let alone Cristal?"

Cristal bit her lip, her hands shaking. "I –"

"I'm not going to lie and say I'm sorry," Willow told her, stepping towards her sister. "You're so much better than I'll ever be, you know. So powerful, so capable…and yet an absolute idiot in self-defense."

Cristal screamed as her sister activated her powers as the Winter Maiden and then slit her left wrist messily open. Ozpin ran towards her, attempting to pull Willow off of her, but found himself suddenly pushed back by the Winter Maiden's powers. In the few seconds she had before he was back on his feet, Willow forced her magic into her finger tips and jammed them into her sister's bleeding wrist. Cristal shrieked again in agony as a bright light began to radiate from her, followed by a pale blue shimmer. Her aura was too weak to fight back against the powers. Quickly, Ozpin activated his own magic in order to push Willow off of Cristal but paused upon the light ceasing and Cristal's aura shimmering. For just a moment, her eyes sparked with the powers behind her glasses. With shaking hands now covered in her sister's blood, Willow released her. Cristal tried to steady herself but was still bleeding profusely. Just as Ozpin reached her, she all but collapsed to the ground in a heap – completely unconscious.

"What did you do –" He started, reaching for a nearby scarf and wrapping it tightly around his wife's wrist in an attempt to hold back some of the blood.

"I had to," Willow said, slipping into a closet nearby. "She'll be a better maiden anyways."

"Chrissy…" Ozpin said gently, brushing a finger over his wife's forehead. "Chrissy?"

She stirred slightly but did not wake up. Not giving the idea much thought, Ozpin reactivated his magic and used it to apparate them just in front of the Atlesian Central Hospital building. His unconscious wife in his arms, he ran through the doors frantically until he reached the emergency room. Several nurses and waiting patients stared in shock upon the scene, and, in less than a minute, Cristal was placed on a stretcher and rushed in the back. Pressing one hand against his glasses and another against his cane in order to steady them, he waited until one of the nurses came back and motioned him to follow her. The entire place smelled sterile; disinfectants and a faint hint of fruit were strong. By the time they reached the room, he felt almost nothing but fear that he would lose his wife again. A doctor was cleaning and beginning to stitch up her rather deep wound, and two nurses were frantically looking through her file as they tried to prepare a blood bag.

"How did this happen?" One of them asked him. "Was she attacked, or –"

"Attacked by her reclusive sister," He told her, then sighing. "She's a negative."

The older nurse immediately pulled up that bag, hooked it up, and quickly inserted the needles into the inner side of her elbow. "Fainting from blood loss?"

Ozpin nodded. "Yes."

The doctor sighed heavily as she finished stitching up the wound. "I think she's going to be alright, but she did lose quite a bit of blood."

Ozpin looked worriedly to his wife, then stepping over to her and squeezing one of her hands in his. "I hope so."

She stirred a bit again, but it would be more than a few hours before she came to.


	105. Chapter 105

_**April**_ ** _5th_**

 ** _Atlesian Main Hospital_**

 ** _City Of Atlas_**

 ** _Atlas_**

 ** _Downtown_**

 ** _8:12 PM_**

Cristal blinked several times as everything slowly came back into focus. Glancing around, she attempted to move but stopped upon pain shooting through her. Sighing heavily, she leaned back dejectedly against the hospital bed, partially wondering why and how her glasses were still on her face.

"Damn…" She muttered. "Damn it all to hell…"

"…Is she conscious?" A familiar, female voice asked from within the hall as footsteps drew near. "…Or –"

"…General Ciel, we were just about to take her vitals," A tired sounding doctor replied. "…So, at the moment, we're not certain."

"…That's my sister you're talking about," Emmett said, a dark tone to his relatively loud voice. "…If she's not okay –"

"…Emmett –" Emmeline started.

"…Chrissy's going to be okay," A calmer voice said, and Cristal bit her lip upon recognizing it. "…She has to be."

"…Professor Ozpin," The doctor said hesitantly. "…You have to know that that's not a guarantee."

The doors to the room slid open as they stepped in.

"Chrissy!" Emmett exclaimed happily upon seeing his sister staring at them. "You feeling okay?"

She scowled. "Take a guess."

Emmeline looked at her worriedly. "I'll take that as a no."

"It's horrible!" She buried her face in her hands as the doctor began to look over her vitals. "Everything that's happened is absolutely horrible, and I –"

"I know being attacked by your own sister must have been –" Emmeline started gently.

"That's not the half of it!" Cristal sighed heavily, not even looking up. "I…"

"Chrissy," Ozpin stepped over to her and wrapped an arm around her as best he could. "It's going to be okay."

"You know what happened…" She said softly. "You know the danger it puts me in."

"Miss Schnee," The doctor said, glancing through paperwork on her clipboard. "Please, your husband is right. You're going to be alright, and it's a serious miracle that you came to at all."

A heavy silence hung over the room before the doctor stepped out and the doors slid shut behind her.

"Chrissy," Emmeline said after a long moment. "Do you have any godly idea why Willow would attack and try to kill you?"

She glanced at her hands. "Willow wasn't trying to kill me."

Emmeline raised an eyebrow. "Putting you in the state you're in doesn't count as trying to kill you?"

"You know she was the Winter Maiden," Cristal said quietly, and Emmeline's deep brown eyes went wide in shock. "And she always hated her powers."

"She transferred her…" Emmeline trailed off, struggling to comprehend what she was saying. "How is that even possible without her dying?"

"I'm not sure," Cristal admitted. "But she was able to."

Ozpin gave her a reassuring squeeze. "I'm just glad that you're alive."

Cristal sighed. "I shouldn't be…"

"No," Emmeline said sharply. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to let you continue to think that you're –"

"Mommy?" Eleven-year-old Courtney Schnee hesitantly stepped into the room. "Are you okay?"

Cristal stared at her daughter in surprise. "How did –"

"I told you to stay in the lobby," Emmeline told her, a bit exasperated. "How did you even manage to sneak up here?"

Courtney smirked and activated her magic in the palm of her hand. "How do you think?"

Emmett laughed. "You're a charmer."

She grinned. "My mom taught me well."

Cristal could not help but smile a bit. "I'm glad I get to see you, baby."

Courtney all but ran over to her mother and embraced her as tightly as she could. "I was so worried about you. Daddy said you were in the hospital because Willow attacked you."

Cristal nodded weakly. "I'm okay, though."

Courtney sighed. "You sure?"

Cristal bit her lip but nodded. "Yes."

Ozpin pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "I'll be right here with you, Chrissy. I promise. I love you."

She stared at him for a moment as she adjusted her glasses. "I love you too…." She said, her voice soft.

"Cristal," Emmett said, starting to pace. "You don't have to pretend you're not scared when you are."

"Why are you scared?" Courtney asked her. "Mommy?"

Cristal hesitated. "Yes, Courtney, I'm scared."

Her daughter stared at her. "Why?"

Cristal glanced to Ozpin but then shook her head. "Because Willow forced her powers as the Winter Maiden on me. I…I'm the new maiden."

Courtney was stunned. "You're a maiden now?"

"Yes," Cristal said. "Yes, I am a maiden."

"I don't know what to say about this," Emmeline said, sharing a look with Emmett. "It's…more than complicated."

"That's saying the least," Emmett said, crossing his arms. "Because if Salem finds out –"

"I don't want to think about that right now," Cristal said tiredly. "Emmett, don't go there."

He nodded. "Alright."

"I don't want this to be a…" Cristal trailed off. "I don't even know what this is going to mean, whether this war ends or not."

"It will," Ozpin told her. "We're going to confront her soon. Just a few more weeks."

"We're going to have to tell the others about this soon," Emmeline said, a bit of warning in her voice. "If we try to keep this covered up, we're going to be making everything worse."

"And we will," Cristal said. "Just after I…after I'm let out and am okay."

"You don't sound particularly confident," Emmeline said slowly. "Chrissy –"

"Of course I'm not particularly confident!" She snapped. "I'm only fooling myself when I say I'm not in pain, when I say I'm not scared, when I say I'm alright!"

Ozpin gently ran his fingers through her thick white curls, trying to comfort her.

"Chrissy," He finally said. "You can tell me anything."

"I know," She said, biting at her lip. "And I have."

He kissed her forehead lovingly. "Chrissy…"

"I don't know what to do…" She admitted. "I don't know why we even fight sometimes."

"That's a mutual feeling," Emmeline said darkly. "Considering everything that has happened. You know they caught Varna and Mark and brought them to the kingdom for…well, him for trial and her for testimony. She'll have to be tried for her crimes in an international court on Vytal…because apparently Atlas would be overstepping if we tried her here."

"It would be a show trial," Emmett reminded her, and she sighed heavily. "Emmy, you and I both know that it would be a show trial that would end in putting her in prison for the rest of her days."

"Well, I –" She started.

"Emmeline," Ozpin said calmly, still holding his wife. "At least think carefully about the power you have, that all of us have. It's been a good thing for what we've been doing, but I don't want any of us to become power hungry after this is over. Just…think about it. Please."

* * *

Rose stared at her nails as she slumped against the wall of the holding cell, an aura cuff on her wrist, her blazer and dress pants dusty, and her blouse scrunched. Her hair was down and a bit tangled, her violet eyes slightly dull, and her heels lay on the concrete beside her. On the other end of the cell, Mark was sitting and constantly fidgeting. He could not stop his thoughts from wandering, much less from turning fearful upon what his sister would think once she heard what he had done, what he was and had been doing. Addison Carrington would never bring a case against her own blood, but she would not stop anyone from procuring any evidence that he knew her department had to bring a case against him. He had committed severe financial crimes, which would be of interest to the DFACR. He was associated deeply, and now publicly, with the woman he loved – a fact which would be of great interest to the DFAMA. Karissa Mar would have no mercy, he knew, and he was certain that Elizabeth Morell's national security council would have no mercy either. He was in a position of hell, and yet he could only hope that he and Rose would be alright.

"I never thought it would end this way," Rose eventually said. "I don't care that it sounds like a trope, it's damn right true. What if I am like Fae Kyra? What if I really am what I claim to hate and fight against? Atlas and Vale think I'm a ruthless dictator…I wonder how many of my own people think that too…"

"Rose," Mark said, standing up and coming over to her, sitting down on the cot beside where she was sitting. "I want to say something to make you feel better –"

"You're not going to be able to," She said almost tonelessly. "You're just not."

"Are you worried about Alice?" He tried to read her face, though he was struggling. "Because it's okay if you are."

"Of course I'm worried about Alice," She snapped. "Alice is our daughter, and I want her to be safe. You know she has a dangerous mission –"

"Killing Natalie Ciel?" Mark questioned, and Rose narrowed her eyes. "Rose, if that's needed to send a message –"

"It's needed to keep the three of us alive!" She exclaimed, her violet eyes flaring. "I'm not doing this or having her do this because I want to! I'm doing this to protect us!"

Mark placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know."

"I don't want to be a killer," She said, her confliction evident in her voice. "I don't. I am, but I don't…I don't like it. It makes me like my father, doesn't it?"

"You're not your father," Mark said sharply. "Your father was the literal incarnation of evil – he was the Brother God of Darkness."

"I'm still his flesh and blood," Rose replied. "Just as much as I am my mother's."

"And your mother was a wonderful, kind, loving woman," Mark reminded her. "You can choose who you are, just as I've chosen who I am."

"Easy for you to say," She said irritably. "When your parents are good people all around, and your goody-two-shoes sister took after them."

Mark hesitated. "That's not quite true. Addison isn't a goody-two-shoes…in many ways, she's a bit of psycho."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Because the head of the Department Of Fiscal Affairs And Corporate Restriction is psycho."

"Well, at the very least, she's arrogant," Mark shook his head. "My point stands, Rose."

"It does," She said, rubbing her arm. "But your complaints about your family are null and void compared to mine."

"Rose," Mark said, sending her a sharp look. "You and Alice are who I think of us my family, rather than the rest of the Carringtons."

She considered that. "Whatever you say."

"I'm being honest with you," He told her. "And I want you to believe that. As much as I am scared by you sometimes, as much as I –"

"I do," Rose said in exasperation. "Can you drop the damn –"

One of the guards opened the door and pointed his gun at Varna.

"Madame Karissa Adeline Mar, head of the Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action requested to speak with you," He said haughtily. "But only if you are willing to speak with her. Says she wants to be 'reasonable'."

Varna scowled, but then sighed. "Fine."

The guard stepped aside, and Karissa hesitantly stepped into the room, resisting the urge to nervously twist her azure curls in her hands.

"You don't have to stay," She told the guard, who stared at her in shock. "They can't do anything. You can return to your post."

"What about your husband?" The guard asked, and she sighed. "He wanted to speak with her as well –"

"And I –" Karissa started.

"Send him in too," Varna said, a dry bitterness to her voice. "I actually have a few things I'd like to say to him regarding his daughter."

Mark snorted. "Which one?"

Varna scowled. "The one our Alice is on a team with."

"I have a lot of questions for you," Spencer said, finally pushing into the room. "But probably no more than my wife."

Varna laughed dryly. "Your wife has access to classified information, and you don't. Of course she'll have more questions than you. Still…there is something that I think will be of more interest to you than to her. Since I'm sure she only cares about the biological child of you and hers and not your three other children from your first marriage…you know, I remember when Arianna was killed –"

"That's completely irrelevant," Karissa said, sending her a sharp look. "And –"

"Natalie isn't going to be around much longer," She said, a sickeningly confident smirk rising on her lips. "And you're going to be too late to stop her from meeting her fate."

Spencer stared at her in horror. "What?"

Varna stood up and began to saunter towards them, and Karissa gently placed a hand on Spencer's shoulder as he started to shake.

"I know you've been suspicious about Alice all along," She said. "I know you both have been. And you know something? You two were completely right to be suspicious."

Karissa raised an eyebrow, forcing herself to be both professional and alright for Spencer's sake.

"Of course I was right to be suspicious," She replied. "You tried to erase your connection to her from the records. Unsuccessfully, I might add."

"Yes, it's insanity," Varna said, rolling her eyes. "Does it make you sick, the way you all live?"

"Huh?" Spencer looked at her in confusion as he brushed his shaggy dark hair away from his eyes. "Are you projecting your thoughts about yourself on us?"

Varna crossed her arms and shook her head. "All of your consolidated power, all of your selfish games for selfish ends, all of your money, all of your connections, all that being a Ciel, or a Mar, or a Morell, or, god forbid, a Schnee means in this time? Doesn't that make you at least a little sick? The way you live? It doesn't eat away at you? I think it does…"

She used the little bit of her magic that she could tap into despite the aura cuff to force all of his injection scars from the diamorphine to be temporarily highlighted.

"Isn't your struggle with addiction the primary signal of it?" She asked him. "Well?"

"That's enough," Karissa said, wrapping an arm tightly around Spencer and pulling him close as she began to rub his back in an attempt to give him some comfort. "You have done –"

"I know what I've done," She snapped, her façade of confidence falling for a moment. "I don't need you two to remind me. The truth remains something oblivious to all of you. You all like where you are, what you have. You're no better than me, not at your core. I hope you know that. I hope you both know that. I hope that all of you – all of them even though they're not here – know that."

* * *

"Stop," Salem said, imperiously sauntering into the room as Watts, Cinder, and Tyrion were preparing to leave on various orders. "We're changing our plans."

Watts stared at her. "What?"

"How is it that you can continue to be so irreverent –" Tyrion snapped.

"Tyrion," Salem said, a sharp edge to her voice. "We don't have to go after them anymore, because they're going to come to us. They're already planning to…although for how long I'm not sure."

"What?" Cinder's eyes went wide. "How do you –"

"Oh, darling, don't be shocked," Victoria said silkily. "I got it out of Willow, when I called her late last night."

Cinder scowled at her mother. "I could have handled this –"

"And now you don't have to," Victoria said, smirking. "Now –"

"Victoria," Salem said, sending her an irritated look. "Don't."

The woman stiffened but went silent.

"This is the best thing to happen for us in this war," Salem said, starting to walk back into her palace with all of them following briskly behind her. "The fact that Ozpin is arrogant enough to come after us here is proof that he's desperate, that he doesn't really have a plan. I'm shocked his anxiety-ridden, CEO wife hasn't gotten to him."

"Or perhaps she has," Watts remarked. "And that's why he's acting so rashly because he wants to end this."

Salem considered that. "A rational argument."

"I'm speaking from experience," He said, a hint of his arrogance in his voice. "Allison's fear of me has caused both her and her husband to act in completely ridiculous ways that aren't thought out in the slightest."

Salem nodded shortly. "Again, a rational argument."

"What about killing Qrow Branwen?" Tyrion asked. "Are we still going to do that?"

Salem smirked a bit to herself. "Provided he comes, we'll do it when we kill the others who fight alongside Ozpin. If not…then we'll find another way to. In the latter scenario, it'll be much easier, considering that the kingdoms will finally start to fall. Beacon may have been a spark…but it's taken almost too long for that spark to spread."

"Which is largely because of you," Victoria sent her daughter a pointed look. "You took to damn long with trying to get revenge on a child –"

"Ruby's not a child anymore, she's a serious threat to me –" Cinder started.

"Enough, both of you," Salem said, her eyes flashing dangerously. "You are much better off than you want to admit, let alone let on, Cinder. Do not forget that."

She hung her head, trying to hide the embarrassed tinge of bright red to her cheeks.

"Seems like someone has lost her touch," Watts sneered, and Cinder quickly whipped around to face him, activating her powers as the Fall Maiden in her anger. "Oh, are you going to kill me?"

"I damn right –" Cinder ran towards him, ready to strangle him, but was stopped by Salem's own magic.

"Cinder," She snapped. "You are being completely irrational, and a pain in the ass –"

"He –" She began.

"Set your self-control issues aside," Salem told her. "It's caused us enough trouble as it is. Sometimes, Cinder, you are more trouble than you're worth."

The woman's amber eyes went wide in fear.

"Now," Salem said, calming herself. "Take a break, all of you. I have something…personal that I must attend to."

"What about Varna?" Victoria questioned. "Without her –"

"We'll have her back soon enough," Salem said with a faint smile. "Go."

As soon as they all were gone, she stepped into her grand hall, slamming the doors behind her with her magic. Then, she directed a seer grimm into her mirror; her formidable ally and foe.

"You know what I'm asking about," She said, her countenance losing any of its arrogance. "And you know why."

A shadowy, male figure appeared behind her, and she began to shake upon seeing his reflection in the mirror.

"Salem," The Brother God of Darkness said. "I am not going to aid you in your fight against Ozpin anymore than my brother is going to aid him in his fight against you."

She turned around and scowled. "You two started this –"

"No, you did," He reminded her. "And you murdered him and your children later on. You turned yourself into a monster seeking power that you wanted for yourself. You never wanted it just so that he would live. You wanted it to rule over humanity, to be their high queen."

Salem took in a sharp breath. "You're wrong."

"I've seen what's inside your head and heart," He said with a faint smirk. "And you allowed me to see all of that."

Salem paled. "No –"

"You're irredeemable," He informed her. "And you're fighting the wrong fight over your lust for power and supposed vengeance on Ozpin for something you did. He didn't kill your children, you did."

Salem stared at him, her eyes continuing to narrow. "How dare you –"

"Unlike you, I have nothing to fear," The Brother God shook his head. "You accuse Ozpin of arrogance, but you're far more arrogant than he ever will be…and he abused his power and that of the Relics to bring his wife, Cristal, and her brother, Emmett, back from the grave. The difference between you two is why he does things. He wants to right his wrongs, he wants to protect what he and those close to him love. Yes, he doesn't trust easily…but how many of them do? You lust for power in a way that is more than dangerous…especially considering everything you have. Do you really think murdering people is justified, Salem?"

She was silent for a long moment.

"I called upon you for aid, and instead you –" Salem started angrily.

"You've given up your humanity, and you know it," The Brother God slowly disappeared. "Do not try this…trick of yours again."

Salem was silent again, but then she quickly used her magic to violently flip over the table, and then smash the mirror, and shatter the windows, and blow out the faint lights of the candles. Everything hung in the air, and the dust did not clear. It was never going to truly clear. Ever.


	106. Chapter 106

_**April 18th  
Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council  
Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Security Level: High  
Necessary Security Clearance: Mid-Range to Maximum  
7:12 PM**_

"Eliza," James said, hesitantly taking her hand and pausing her in front of Karissa's office. "Are you sure that you're alright?"

She stared at him for a moment, then sighing. "It doesn't really matter if I am or if I'm not. We've got more problems to deal with than me."

"Eliza…" He said gently. "I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"I don't want that to happen either," She said. "But I have to…I don't even know half the time, anymore."

"It's alright if you don't know," He told her, and she bit her lip. "Eliza, really, you don't have to know the answer to every problem all of the time."

She considered that, then embracing him suddenly. "Why is it that you keep me sane?"

"I'm not sure how I do it," He admitted. "But I do love you."

She smiled weakly. "I love you too."

Karissa pulled the door open just a little bit. "You two are aware that we can hear you two talking, aren't you?"

Elizabeth turned slightly pink in spite of herself. "And I'm sure that Blake has had more than a laughing fit about it."

"…I'm not the bad guy!" Blake exclaimed. "…Now, come on, apparently there's something new that we need to know."

"Need to know may be an understatement," Cristal remarked darkly, sharing a knowing look with Elizabeth as she and James stepped into the room with Karissa closing the door. "You know what I mean, Eliza."

She raised an eyebrow. "My question is how you could possibly gain those powers."

"Well, that would be a good question to get out of my sister in confidence later," Cristal said, and Ozpin pulled her a bit closer in an impulsive moment. "Since she's the one that tried to kill me to do it."

Elizabeth sat down a bit shakily, memories of torture resurfacing against her will.

"Are you okay?" Emmett asked her worriedly. "You don't look too good."

"I…" Elizabeth shook her head. "I'm fine."

James sat down beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure?"

She scowled. "Yes, I am."

"That's usually a lie," Karissa said pointedly, and Spencer sighed heavily, running a hand through his messy dark hair. "And if you think that you're protecting the rest of us or yourself, you're wrong."

"Don't press it," Elizabeth told her. "We have to interrogate Willow later, and I'm sure that's going to be its own hell as it is."

"Willow's not going to want to be cooperative," Cristal warned her. "The one thing she shares with Jacques is a self-preservation instinct and –"

"I thought that was the whole Schnee family," Qrow said dryly, causing Winter to elbow him sharply. "Okay, look, Win, you've said that yourself –"

"Not now, Qrow," She said tiredly. "Please."

He went silent, although he sent Cristal an irritable look.

"So," He said. "What exactly are you telling us that we 'need to know' about?"

Cristal bit her lip, then activating her powers as the Winter Maiden.

"This…" She finally said. "I…I'm the new Winter Maiden…"

Ronnie raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

Cristal scowled. "If you think that I have any desire to have a target placed on my back –"

"That's not what I was saying," Ronnie said. "I just…"

"It's a shock," Brie said, and Ronnie nodded. "Although I'm sure that it's a shock for you more so than anyone else."

"Well," Cristal said dryly as she adjusted her glasses. "It considering that I almost died, at the hands of my own sister, no less –"

"Chrissy," Allison said gently. "It'll be alright, and we're all just glad that you're alive."

She sighed. "I am too…I'm just…frustrated and emotionally…struggling emotionally."

"We'll figure something out," Ozpin promised her, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "Nothing's going to happen."

"That's a dangerous precedent to set," Elizabeth warned him. "In these times, at least."

* * *

"Alice?" Natalie hesitantly walked into the empty lecture hall off of which she knew Dr. Oobleck was in his office. "Where are you?"

"I'm right here…" She whispered, stepping out of the shadows and hiding the aura cuff she was holding behind her back. "I just…"

Natalie smiled upon seeing her. "I'm glad to see you."

Alice bit her lip. "I'm glad to see you too."

"I'm sorry my dad's been giving you such a hard time," Natalie said, and Alice rubbed her neck with her free hand. "I know that it's difficult –"

"I do love your brother, you know," Alice said softly. "I really do."

"I know you do," Natalie said kindly. "And he loves you too. It's just…dad and Karissa have spent a lot time trying to scare him because of who your mother is."

Alice shook her head. "They don't know me."

"Of course they don't," Natalie agreed. "They're refusing to learn who you are. You're not your mother."

Alice swallowed hard. "I hope not the worst parts of her, at any rate."

"I don't think you're a killer," Natalie said. "You're human, and you feel human, and you bleed human. Your mom doesn't."

"She does sometimes," Alice told her. "Sometimes she does. It's…it's just that she doesn't know what she'd do without power. Especially because all she's ever tried to do is help the people of Vacuo…you know all about Fae Kyra's brutal dictatorship. That woman was absolutely insane –"

"She was evil," Natalie said, a hint of anger in her voice. "And she was involved with killing my mother."

"So," Alice said. "You found out the truth."

"That Fae Kyra was the one that forced Cinder to kill my mother and not Salem?" Natalie sighed. "Yes, I found out the truth. I…I'm still horrified by what happened, I'm still…torn with what to believe, and I have absolutely no idea what to do…."

"It'll be alright," Alice said, starting to come over to her. "I know it will be."

Natalie snorted. "Maybe if we can finally defeat what's really going on behind all of this."

"Maybe," Alice said, pausing as she looked around. "It's so quiet in here."

"Oobleck's in his office," Natalie reminded her. "But he's probably listening to music or talking to himself. Maybe both. I think we're okay."

Alice sighed. "Yeah, maybe we are."

"Are you okay?" Natalie looked at her in concern. "You sound upset."

"I'm fine," Alice said, though she felt sick. "Don't press it, please. I feel awful enough, and –"

"Why?" Natalie asked her. "What is it that you have to feel bad about?"

Alice swallowed hard. "Because…I…I…because of something that I haven't done yet, because –"

"If you haven't done it yet, how can you feel bad?" Natalie's brow furrowed in confusion. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to, you know."

"Sometimes you don't have a choice," Alice said, her voice breaking. "Sometimes you have to do what it takes to survive."

Natalie stared at her. "I don't understand."

"You don't want to," Alice told her. "You don't want to know what it's like to live the life that I do."

"Is this…" Natalie bit her lip. "Is this about your mom?"

Alice was silent for a long moment, unsure of how to respond.

"Alice?" Natalie questioned again. "Is this about your mom?"

"In…" Alice glanced around. "Well…yes. In so many respects, it is."

"Not everything has to be about your mom," Natalie said gently. "It's going to be okay, you don't have to be her –"

"I'm more like her than you think –"

"No, you're not –"

"Yes, I am!" Alice exclaimed. "You have no idea –"

"I know you, Matt knows you –" Natalie started.

"No, you don't…" Alice said weakly, coming over to Natalie. "None of you do –"

"Yes, we –" Natalie gasped in surprise upon Alice grasping her wrist and slamming an aura cuff onto it. "What are you doing –"

"What I have to…" Alice said softly. "What I have to do in order to survive."

Natalie stared at her, eyes wide. "What does that mean?"

"I'm sorry…" Alice said, activating her magic as a sorceress. "I…I'm so sorry…"

With a quick snap of her fingers, Alice knocked Natalie unconscious. Pulling out her gun, Alice closed her eyes and fired a few quick shots at Natalie. She did not shoot her severely enough for her to die upon being shot, but the young woman was left to bleed out from her shoulder and her side. Feeling sick to her stomach as she looked upon the scene, she glanced up to the security cameras that she knew had captured everything. Instead of shooting the camera, she slipped her gun into her purse. Heavy footsteps drew closer from Oobleck's office, and she knew if she was found that it would be the end. Though she had not done it beyond a few times under the guidance of her mother, Alice focused her magic into apparating her to Atlas.

Stepping quickly into a café, she used more of her magic to alter her appearance just enough to take away her violet eyes and to turn her hair blonde. She felt as if she was a demon, but she felt powerful. She tried to focus on that as hell broke loose back at Beacon. A few seconds after Alice had disappeared, Oobleck all but tore open the door to the lecture and flipped on the lights. He was stopped in horror for a moment upon seeing the state that Natalie was in, but quickly ran over to her, lifted her up over his shoulder, and ran with her as fast as he could manage down to the medical wing. Within a few minutes of the young woman being brought in, he was explaining the scene to the staff who informed him that Ozpin was in Atlas with his wife, but that he would be back the next day. Calls were sent out to Karissa Mar and Spencer Ciel. Natalie was placed under intensive care.

"Dr. Oobleck," One of the nurses said. "How did this happen?"

"I'm not sure," He admitted, rubbing his neck as he looked nervously to the unconscious Natalie Ciel. "But there are security tapes. I found her in the lecture hall…if you pull the tapes, we might be able to discern what happened."

The nurse quickly pulled out his scroll and sent a message to members of the security team.

"Anything else?" He asked. "Apart from the obvious?"

"I heard gunshot shortly before I found her," Oobleck informed him. "It went twice. When I arrived at the scene, there was no trace."

The nurse nodded shortly. "Hopefully we'll be able to figure this out."

"Agreed," Oobleck ran his hand through his already messy green hair and then shook his head. "How could something like this happen?"

"That might not be something we wanted answered," Dr. Reba said as she continued to look over Natalie's vitals as others stabilized her. "Just as we didn't want to know how the Fall could have happened over ten years ago."

Oobleck sighed. "There's nothing worse, though, than hiding from the truth."

"Fair," Reba replied. "But that doesn't make the truth any less of a bitter pill to swallow. Not everyone can handle that, Bartholomew. I hope you know that."

He nodded shortly. "There are some things that not everyone is cut out for, and there's nothing wrong with that. The only issue arises when they refuse to take responsibility for their inaction. Complacency is an action, and –"

"We know," Reba said tiredly. "For now, let's just hope that this girl lives."

"Of course," Oobleck said, adjusting his glasses anxiously. "Is that likely?"

Reba hesitated but nodded. "Yes…or so I'm praying…"

* * *

"Willow Amara Schnee," Kiara Davis began, her voice perfectly clipped. "You have been brought before the Atlesian National Security Council prior to your arraignment in order to set forth your statements in regard to recent events involving you and attempted murder of your younger sister, Cristal Annabelle Schnee."

Willow pursed her lips. "Yes, of course."

"Do you or do you not deny that you attempted to murder Miss Schnee?" Kiara said, and an uncomfortable silence followed. "I will repeat –"

"I heard your question," Willow snapped, then sighing heavily. "Yes, I deny that I attempted to murder Cristal. How could she accuse me of such a thing? I'm her own sister – I would never hurt her."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Forgive me for being so blunt, but there is quite a bit of evidence that indicates that you did, in fact, attempt to murder –"

"The condescension in your tone is completely unhelpful," Willow said snippily, and Elizabeth stiffened in irritation. "And the evidence you're referring to is hearsay."

"To the contrary," Karissa said calmly, sharing a brief look with Elizabeth. "There is forensic, crime scene evidence that indicates your involvement. The knife found at the scene had your DNA on the handle, and Cristal's blood on the blade. Furthermore, the crime is known to have taken place in your bedroom, at your home, on the evening of the –"

"I didn't try to kill her!" Willow exclaimed. "Why would you –"

"Were you or were you not there on the night that the crime was committed?" Kiara questioned, cutting across her. "And at the time that it –"

"Yes, I was," Willow said, then biting her lip. "But I didn't try to kill my sister."

"Then why, might I ask, is she filing criminal charges against you?" Ronnie asked, completely lost. "If you were there that night, was there another person there that could have been mistaken for you that attempted to kill your sister?"

Willow swallowed hard, struggling to formulate a plausible lie.

"Cristal hallucinated and harmed herself," Willow said, and an almost palpable tension fell over the room. "And she is blaming me because she does not want to admit to mental illness."

"That's…odd," Blake Adel said, glancing through Cristal's recent mental health examination. "Miss Schnee was screened for all mental illnesses just two months ago, and it only came back with her having severe anxiety and depression. No hallucinations, no instances of self-harm. That alibi makes little sense."

Willow scowled. "You of all people must know that she has a great reach of influence –"

"Are you suggesting that Miss Schnee altered the results of her test?" Kiara stared at the woman in shock. "I am afraid that I must inform you that she was closely monitored the whole time, and she had no access to the records after the fact. That is impossible."

Willow stared down at her hands.

"She was stressed," She amended. "Which can trigger hallucinations –"

"Again," Kiara repeated. "That falls apart under examination of her testing. Cristal Schnee is perfectly sane."

Willow went silent, unsure of what to do or say.

"This is…curious," Emmeline finally said. "If you are telling the truth and did not try to kill Miss Schnee, why have you been unable to explain the evidence that this Council has mounted against you?"

Willow sent her a dark look. "It was planted, it had to be."

"That does not explain how your DNA imprint was found all over the knife except for in the blood," James said, pausing for a moment but then going on. "Would you care to explain that?"

"I…I can't," Willow said. "Not without sounding crazy."

A heavy silence fell over the room once more.

"This matter is vastly complicated," Kiara said upon breaking the silence. "More to the point being why you refused to allow your attorney to join you in this hearing. You have every legal right to. Why would you not?"

"I'm not guilty," Willow said quietly. "Not of attempted murder, anyways."

Elizabeth tapped her pen against the desk, after a moment.

"Hearing adjourned," She said simply. "We will resume investigation of this matter at a later date, following the arraignment and plea."

Willow was quickly escorted out of the room by two security guards, both of whom checked the aura cuff which had been placed upon her wrist. As soon as the doors slammed behind them, the members of the security council began to leave as well, Kiara being the first to leave with a rather large case file tucked under her arm. She paused for a moment by Ronnie who had buried his face in his hands, and placed her free hand on his shoulder, causing him to flinch and push his way quickly out of the room with his scroll in hand. Karissa folded up her reading glasses and placed them delicately in her bag before reaching for her scroll as she ran a hand through her deep, azure curls. Emmeline began to pace as she took a call, and Blake left just behind Ronnie. Elizabeth and James shared a knowing look for a long moment before heading in the opposite direction towards her office. Barely paying any mind to her surroundings, Karissa glanced through her emails and text messages on her scroll almost fleetingly as she stepped into the elevator. It was not until she got to a recent email that she felt as if she were going to be sick. Slipping her scroll a bit shakily into her blazer pocket, she stepped out of the elevator feeling almost light headed. Seeing Spencer reading _The Time Is Nigh_ on the side of the lobby only escalated that feeling. She embraced him tightly, startling him slightly, and squeezed his hand as they stepped out to her Mercedes in the side lot.

"Are you alright?" She asked him. "I know the last few weeks have been rough."

"They have been," He admitted. "But knowing that this might all be over soon as helped."

Karissa bit her lip. "Spence, there's something I need to tell you."

He glanced at her worriedly. "That's promising."

"Spence…" Karissa said, pausing just by her car and taking his hands in hers. "Natalie was shot. Once in the side, and once in the shoulder. She might not live."

Spencer paled, unmoving as the cool wind whipped his shoulder length dark waves around.

"Spence?" Karissa said, concern rising in her voice. "Are you okay?"

"I…" He started, his voice shaking. "She…Nattie might…"

"Spencer!" Karissa steadied him against herself, kicking off her heels as she almost lost her balance herself. "Oh my god, Spence, are you alright?"

He struggled to speak, even as she held him steady against him.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "I have to hold it together, I can't –"

"Spence, I'm upset too," She said, fighting back tears. "And I don't want anything to happen to her anymore than you do."

"How did this happen?" He asked her. "'Rissa?"

"I don't know," She said quietly. "They didn't say, but I think we all need to go down to Vale tomorrow. I'm not going to let this just happen."

Spencer sighed. "Was it planned?"

"I hope not," Karissa said, then shaking her head. "But, if it was, I want to know who did it, and I want it dealt with. I hope it's nothing more than an accident…but there's a distinct possibility that it's not."

"Karissa?" Elizabeth stared at her and Spencer in confusion as she stepped into the lot, her car right beside Karissa's. "Did something happen?"

"Natalie was shot," Karissa told her, and Elizabeth tensed. "Ozpin, Cristal, Spencer, and I are going to Vale tomorrow."

"I'll assume that's with Courtney, Luna, Matthew, and Percival," Elizabeth said, and Karissa nodded shortly. "Any clue how it happened?"

"No," Karissa said, holding Spencer close as he stroked her hair gently. "But I want that cleared up quickly."

Elizabeth scowled at her perfectly clipped and filed nails for a moment. "If I had to take a guess, I would be willing to accuse Varna's daughter of doing it."

Spencer stared at her, horrified at the prospect. "Varna did make that specific threat to us, but I hoped that she was joking –"

"Because Varna jokes around when it comes to committing murder," Elizabeth scoffed. "This would be exactly like her. Furthermore –"

"We'll figure it out," Karissa said, sighing heavily in an attempt to calm herself. "We just have to stay rational. Losing it…it's not going to get us anywhere that we want to go…"


	107. Chapter 107

_**April 23rd  
Beacon Academy Hospital  
Beacon Academy  
City Of Vale  
Vale  
7:37 PM**_

She first heard the shuffling of feet, followed by an incandescent beeping. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, and she found herself feeling sore and in pain.

"Natalie?" Karissa said gently, and the young woman turned to look at her as best she could in surprise. "How are you feeling?"

"Everything hurts like a bitch…" She groaned, her voice hoarse. "Ugh."

"Do you know what happened?" She asked her. "Anything at all?"

Natalie was silent for a long moment.

"Natalie?" Karissa looked at her in concern. "Are you alright?"

She bit her lip. "You were right," She croaked out. "You and daddy were right. Alice is exactly like her mother…"

"'Rissa, is –" Spencer paused as he stepped into the room, then sighing in relief. "Natalie –"

"I'm alive," She said dryly, then groaning as she tried to sit further up. "Sort of."

"What happened to you?" He said, concern evident in his voice as he sat down beside Karissa. "Apart from being shot."

Natalie scowled. "Well, the gist of it is that I was shot."

Spencer and Karissa shared a look of concern.

"Alice shot her," Karissa eventually told him. "That was what Oz, Port, and Oobleck thought upon reviewing the tapes from the night, but they couldn't prove it without Natalie corroborating it –"

"I never said that it was Alice who shot me –" Natalie snapped.

"Then who did?" Spencer countered. "The evidence –"

"You and I both know it was her who shot me!" Natalie exclaimed in exasperation. "But I don't appreciate Karissa taking the words out of my –"

"Natalie, calm down," Spencer said sternly. "You're already hurt, please don't make yourself feel worse."

She glanced down at her hands. "I can't believe myself…"

"Natalie Arianna Ciel, this is not your fault," Karissa sent her a sharp but notably sympathetic look. "Don't think that, honestly. She played you in the same way she played your brother –"

"I wouldn't call it the same way," Spencer said a bit hesitantly. "Considering that Alice played upon Matt's…emotional desires."

Karissa snorted. "That's an understatement –"

"Why do you have to be condescending every time that you're right?" Natalie demanded, looking to Karissa. "I don't care that you're the head of the DFAMA, every single time I can remember you being right about something with anyone except daddy and a few others…you've been so arrogant about it! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Karissa was silent for a long moment.

"Natalie," She said slowly. "You're in shock –"

"I am not!" She insisted, startling Luna who had been sleeping in the other chair nearby. "I'm saying the things that I've never been able to say because I don't want to hurt dad! But every damn day it seems I'm a disappointment, I've fucked up, or I've screwed up!"

Spencer ran a hand tiredly through his messy, long, dark hair. "Nattie, you know that's not true."

"Really?" She challenged, tears rising in her eyes. "It's exactly like what Caitlin told me when she took me here! She told me that she understands my pain because she's going through it too! She's scared of herself because she cuts and has scars on her left hand and wrist from it now. She grapples with feelings of worthlessness despite having a great career, and a loving wife –"

"She's had it since she was seventeen, it just went undiagnosed –" Karissa started.

"I know that!" Natalie snapped. "And she understands what it's like to have depression! She knows she probably had it long before she was diagnosed because of how well she hid her feelings –"

"Which never did her any favors," Karissa reminded her. "As I'm sure she could tell you."

Natalie sighed heavily. "Do either of you have any idea what it feels like when happiness hurts because you were wrong, or because your mind doesn't want you to be happy? I'm not getting better, I'm getting worse, and I almost ended up dead because of it! How the hell does that make me in shock? It doesn't! I'm not crazy, I'm alive! And I'm in pain in so many ways – just like my cousin-in-law is!"

Luna whimpered a bit as she came over to Karissa and started tugging on her dress pants. "Mommy…" She said quietly.

Karissa gently lifted her six-year-old daughter up into her arms. "You okay, Luna?"

The little girl simply curled into her mother's arms, her eyes wide.

"Natalie," Spencer said after a long moment. "You don't have to explain depression or constant anxiety to anyone in this family. The former runs in our family and has for years, and the latter is something that we've all had trials with."

She bit her lip. "Sometimes I don't think you understand. How could you give up mom for Karissa? How?"

Spencer took in a sharp breath. "Natalie –"

"I don't understand how you can love her," She said irritably. "After all this time, as I've gotten worse, things have only gotten more contentious in the family and it seems like it all started with her –"

"Natalie, you have no idea the things that 'Rissa has done for me –" Spencer started, his voice shaking.

"Like what?" Natalie snapped. "Sex?"

Spencer stared at her for a long moment and then buried his face in his hands as tears started rise behind his eyes.

"Spence…" Karissa said softly, placing a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "It's alright –"

"I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you…" He said, his voice breaking. "Addiction would have taken my life by now if it weren't for you being the single stable thing in my life…"

Natalie swallowed hard, guilt beginning to pool within her.

"The amount of times I've fallen back into it…" Spencer sighed heavily as he looked up to his wife, whose deep brown eyes were wide in concern. "'Rissa, after all this time, you've stopped an overdose from being fatal by a hair more times than I want to consider. I don't know what I would do without you…you've kept us stable more than anyone else…and I love you more than anything."

Karissa embraced him as best she could with Luna still curled up in her arms. "I know, Spence…"

"I really do love you…" He murmured. "More than I can say…"

She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "I love you too, Spence."

Luna squirmed as Karissa released Spencer. "Mommy?"

"Something wrong, Luna?" She asked her. "Luna?"

The little girl reached over to grab Natalie's hand and she pulled playfully at her finger. "Boop, Nattie!"

Natalie could not help but smile a bit. "Boop, Luna." She said half-heartedly, tapping her little sister's finger.

Luna giggled. "You're silly."

Natalie sighed. "I try."

"Are you going to be alright?" Karissa asked her, and she hesitated. "Natalie?"

"Probably not," She said. "It's not as if misery really goes away."

"Found them!" Percival exclaimed as he and Matt stepped into the room. "How are you, sis?"

"Terrible," She replied, her eyes slightly narrowed. "Completely wretched."

"I can't tell if you're making a joke," Matt said nervously. "So…I'll go with you're not."

"Good call," She said. "For your sanity, that is."

Percival laughed. "That one a joke?"

Natalie shrugged. "Maybe."

* * *

Caitlin Ciel ran her fingers delicately over the ornate mirror in one of the corridors of Beacon Academy's vault. "This is a beautiful piece," She remarked. "Besides being an antique, I can almost guarantee you that it's got some sort of…locked capacities."

Cristal raised an eyebrow as she adjusted her glasses. "What exactly does that mean?"

Caitlin sighed, tugging the sleeves of her fitted yellow moto-jacket down. "I mean that my spidey-senses are screaming that there's some sort of property to this mirror that needs to be unlocked with magic."

Cas considered that. "I suppose that's possible…although why exactly you would put magic into a mirror is beyond me. Let alone one this side."

"It was in the family for a long time," Cristal told them, glancing to Emmett. "Didn't mom have some sort of story about it? It can't just be me that remembers her talking about it to us a few times."

"Knowing Victoria, I guarantee that it was some sort of old wives' tale," Emmeline said dryly, and Emmett shrugged. "Emmett, you know your mother better than I do, but you cannot honestly tell me that she wouldn't tell you some ridiculous, convoluted story about a mirror to scare the living daylights out of you and Cristal."

"It did scare the living daylights out of us," Emmett admitted, and Emmeline sighed in exasperation. "But that was probably because of the implications."

"We were fifteen when she told us about it," Cristal added. "Which was probably why it freaked us the fuck out."

Emmett laughed. "I think that's an understatement."

Ozpin looked to Cristal as he gently wrapped an arm around her waist. "What exactly did she tell you?"

Cristal hesitated, glancing to Courtney who was in awe of her surroundings. "I'm not sure I want to get into it."

"And now you've got me interested," Caitlin said as she adjusted her glasses. "Is it like the Mirror of Erised from _Harry Potter_?"

"I'm not surprised that's where you go first," Cas said with a smirk, playfully mussing her wife's waist length bronze waves. "And that would scare me. The idea of wasting away in front of mirror like Dumbledore warned about in the –"

"This has nothing to do with _Harry Potter_ ," Cristal said, although she was laughing. "No, that would not have scared me."

"Well, mom always had a flair for storytelling," Emmett said, frowning a bit as he glanced at the mirror's upper edges. "Caitlin, you speak one of the southern Valerian dialects. Can you read the inscription on the upper edges?"

She glanced at it, an eyebrow raised as she read. "Traigo los muertos a la cosa final para paz y tener la habilidad para hacer circular."

Emmeline looked to the mirror nervously. "Why is it shimmering?"

"It looks cool," Ariel remarked, playfully punching Ella's shoulder. "Doesn't it?"

Ella shook her head. "It creeps me out."

"I'm not sure why it's doing that," Caitlin said, anxiety rising in her even as Cas pulled her in close as comfort. "The inscription, in Atlesian Standard, means 'I bring the dead to the end for peace and to have the ability to move on.'"

"That's lovely," Cristal said dryly. "And creepy."

"But fitting with mom's story," Emmett reminded her. "Which was that the mirror gives its users a chance to make peace with a deceased loved-one that never was able to make peace with something that went on with them either."

Cristal flinched a bit in spite of herself. "Emmett –"

"Chrissy, it's still –" Ozpin started.

"Shh…" Caitlin said, an unusual feeling of calm rising in her as she pressed a hand against the glass of the mirror. "It's doing something…"

Cas watched her worriedly until her wife stepped away from the mirror and back towards her. "What was that?"

"I…" Caitlin sighed heavily, a cold feeling running through her as the mirror started to clear. "I don't know –"

"Cristal?" A voice choked out, and her head snapped up to look at the mirror in shock. "My god. Cristal…Emmett…you two are alive?"

"Daddy?" She said, wanting to cry in spite of herself. "What?"

"Nicholas?" Ozpin said slowly. "What's going on?"

"I'm not quite sure," He admitted, then coughing for a moment. "But I can't reach beyond here. I know I'm not alive…but the rest of you…Emmeline?"

Emmeline awkwardly waved, unsure of how to react to being spoken to by a man long since dead. "Nicholas."

"I'm glad you have him back," He said as Emmett drew Emmeline closer. "I know you were devastated when you lost him. How's your daughter? How old is she now? Nine or ten?"

Emmeline shook her head. "Cas?"

Cas stepped towards the mirror with Caitlin. "A little over ten years off on that one."

Nicholas stared at her. "You look so much like your father. Your mother's hair, of course, but you have so many of your father's features."

"I know," She said, then smiling as she gave her wife a gentle squeeze. "This is my wife. Caitlin."

Nicholas looked at her for a moment. "Elizabeth's daughter?"

Caitlin nodded awkwardly. "Yes."

"Also," Emmett said slowly. "Emmy and I have two twin girls as well."

"Yo!" Ariel exclaimed, waving almost frantically. "I'm Ari, and –"

"I can speak for myself!" Ella said, sticking her tongue out at her sister. "And I'm older –"

"Oh, come on!" Ariel said with a playful smirk. "You're older by a few minutes –"

"This is so not going into my list of topics to discuss with people outside the family…" Courtney said, her awe only increasing as she stepped over towards her parents. "I bet Ronnie's going to freak out when I tell him about this."

Cristal raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Scaring Ronnie doesn't take much when you're actually trying, Courtney."

"Who's that?" Nicholas asked. "She looks a lot like you."

"This is…" Cristal bit her lip as she shared a look with Ozpin who pressed a kiss to her forehead reassuringly. "I…daddy, this is my daughter. Courtney Schnee."

Nicholas smiled as he looked at all of them. "Are you all happy?"

"Well –" Caitlin started dryly.

"For the most part?" Cristal said, then sighing. "We've had hell to go through…but, yes, for the most part we're happy."

"I'm glad," Nicholas said. "When…when you and Emmett died…or I suppose, considering the circumstances, disappeared, I had no idea what to do with the grief of losing two of my children."

Emmett bit his lip, brushing tears away from his eyes. "Daddy –"

"Emmett, I'm so glad you're happy, and that you have a family, and that you have Emmeline," He said, then turning to Cristal. "And I'm relieved that you and Ozpin have each other and your daughter. You deserve happiness, Cristal, no matter what it is that you think of yourself."

Cristal glanced down at her feet. "Sometimes I don't know what I think of myself."

"It's okay…" Ozpin murmured, kissing her cheek. "I love you no matter what, Chrissy."

Nicholas sighed. "Emmeline, is your father still alive?"

She nodded. "He's in his second and final term as president."

Nicholas smiled. "Give him and your brothers my best."

"I will," She said, looking to Emmett. "Are you okay?"

He hesitated but nodded. "Yes, I am."

Nicholas looked to Caitlin and Cas. "I hope the two of you are well…and I want nothing more than happiness for you two. As for Ozpin…"

Ozpin tensed slightly as he turned towards him and Cristal.

"Keep her safe," Nicholas said. "I know how much you two love each other…and I don't want any of you to go through the pain of losing each other again."

Cristal swallowed hard, starting to speak, but, before she could get words out, he was gone.

"Chrissy?" Ozpin said gently. "Are you okay?"

"I…" She sighed. "I hope so…"

* * *

"What are we going to do?" Ronnie pressed a hand tiredly to his forehead. "This is an absolute disaster…"

"I agree with that," Elizabeth said dryly. "Brianna, remind me, what was Addison Carrington's reaction to her brother refusing to let her talk to him within the cell we're keeping him and Varna in?"

Brianna rolled her eyes. "She called him a coward and said: 'get over here, you son of a bitch!'"

Edward raised an eyebrow. "She actually said the words 'get over here, you son of a bitch'?"

"I don't have the creativity to invent that," Brianna told him. "And if I did, it would probably involve more swearing."

"She did curse Varna out when the woman tried to strangle her," Elizabeth reminded her. "Although Addison should have known better than to let arrogance get the best of her when it came to dealing with Varna."

"She thought of it more as dealing with her brother and his lover," Ronnie countered. "And she knows she has quite a bit of power over her brother."

Elizabeth snorted. "I'm surprised she hasn't abused her power to get him locked up until the rapture."

Ronnie groaned and pulled off his glasses, setting them down on the edge of his desk. "Eliza, this is bad enough without you making dark jokes."

"That wasn't a joke," She informed him as he reached for Brianna's hand and gently squeezed it. "I was being completely serious. The way Addison has ranted to me about her brother is almost scary. She _hates_ him for what he's done. She told me she's not going to do anything because she cares about following the law, but that she can't believe that he's her brother."

"People aren't always what we think they are," James sighed. "But I know it's worse when it's in the family."

"That's something we all know full well," Edward said, starting to pace. "And, beyond that, we've watched the ramifications of that happen with disastrous consequences."

Elizabeth ran a hand through her dark hair. "We're all but trying to take on the devil herself when dealing with Varna."

"Welcome to hell," Brianna said darkly. "We might as well bid any chance for normalcy farewell."

Elizabeth sighed. "I believe we did that several years ago."

"As well and good as all of this is," Ronnie said, probing his forehead. "This doesn't give us any idea of what we're going to do about it."

"I think the best thing we can do is keep her here in Atlas," James said, and Edward nodded. "Trying to transfer her to Vytal for trial would be an absolute shit show."

"I agree with that assessment," Elizabeth said slowly. "But, if we don't do that, we're going to look absolutely horrible on the world stage. This isn't a decision that I believe we can make without Karissa here. After all, she has the final say in this matter."

"Actually," Another voice said, stepping into the room. "When she's not here, matters such as this, when they are pressing, fall to my jurisdiction."

Ronnie scowled. "As much as I recognize your authority, Madame Davis, you are not the head of the State Department –"

"You forwarded a memo to all of the department heads, plus the security council, informing us that you were pressed for a decision and were giving the final call up to the second in command matters such as this," Kiara reminded him, nodding subtly to Edward who did not respond. "And, as that is the head of the DFAMA who is not here –"

"I am third in that chain –" Elizabeth started irritably.

"You are forgetting, Madame Morell, that you are not a department head," Kiara said, sending her a sharp look. "You are the head of the Atlesian National Security Council, making you fourth. I am third in line in this position, and, considering the pressure from Vale and Mistral as well as internal conflicts, I think we need to send Varna to Vytal to be brought to trial as she is not an Atlesian citizen and, on top of that, is a world leader. We'll try Mark Carrington here, as we had planned."

Elizabeth stared at her in horror. "Have you even considered the _terrible_ cost-benefit analysis here? The leaders of Vale and Mistral, _especially_ Vale's PM, could be persuaded to allow us to have an international trial here in Atlas for security reasons, but the idea of transferring Varna out of the kingdom is a dangerous one! She almost killed Addison Carrington the other day with her bare hands. She doesn't need her aura or magic to be dangerous, and I do not think that we are doing ourselves any favors by being rash. I am _imploring_ you, Kiara, to not do this without Karissa's consent. She understands these matters better than you do, and she is out for a serious matter involving _Varna's orders to kill_ her step-daughter. Please don't do this, not without her."

Kiara sighed. "This matter is pressing, Elizabeth, and you ought to recognize that as the head of the ANSC."

Edward sent her a sharp look. "Madame Davis, I do not feel comfortable with this matter being decided without –"

"Edward, you are more hardline about law than I am," Kiara said, and he stiffened as he adjusted his bowler hat. "And you understand the difficulties of this matter –"

"Yes, I do," Edward said sharply. "But Madame Morell is correct. You are acting rashly."

"With all due respect, President Ciel," Kiara said, taking the draft order to transport Varna to Vytal for trial from Ronnie's desk and signing it. "This is not your family's decision, this is mine. I am doing what's right for everyone. Please have faith in me."

With that, she sauntered out to file the official order – the door slamming shut behind her.

"What have I done?" Ronnie buried his face in his hands. "I've made a horrible mistake –"

"Ronnie –" Brianna started.

"No, Brie…" He sighed heavily. "This is horrible for everyone involved…"

She crossed her arms, looking to him worriedly. "That was supposed to be Karissa's decision after you were unable to come to a conclusion –"

"And Kiara gamed the system for a power grab," Elizabeth said irritably. "And I am appalled by that –"

"Elizabeth," Edward said tiredly. "There's nothing we can do –"

"Can't you stop her?" She demanded. "Well?"

"Not without abusing my power," Edward replied sharply. "I am not going to abuse my position –"

"This is going to be a disaster –" She started.

"We'll control it as best we can," James told her. "I'm not happy with it either, but we'll do our best to control the situation. We won't let this get out of hand."

"Isn't it already out of hand?" Elizabeth shook her head as she pulled out her scroll and began to send a message to Karissa and Emmeline. "I'm going to warn her and Emmeline before they get back…this is going to be damning…"


	108. Chapter 108

_**May 3rd  
**_ _ **Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council  
**_ _ **Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Security Level: High  
**_ _ **Necessary Security Clearance: Mid-Range to Maximum  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **3:14 PM**_

"She did what?" Karissa Mar stared at Ronnie incredulously. "She –"

"Made a grab at power that she could do so legally while you were away," He said as calmly as he could. "I thought Elizabeth had sent you –"

"I didn't look at my scroll the whole time I was in Vale!" Karissa sighed heavily, running a hand tiredly through her azure curls. "Ronnie, I was more concerned about Natalie and Spencer than anything else, let alone the fact that it's harder than you think it is to take a squirmy six-year-old to Vale and sit with her and your husband in a hospital room for hours on end, not knowing if your step-daughter will ever come to."

Ronnie shifted uncomfortably, unable to come up with a response.

"I cannot believe she didn't wait until I returned to the kingdom," Karissa said, irritably standing up and dialing into her office landline. "Yes, hello, I'm back. I heard that Madame Davis made a major decision involving a maximum-security prisoner without my impetus and direction, and, as the matter is a foreign affairs issue, I need to speak with her as soon as possible."

"She's not going to be –" Ronnie started.

"Oh…" Karissa hesitated for a moment. "Well, I suppose that's alright. Yes, send her up."

Ronnie sent her a dark look upon her setting the line back into the wall. "Are you really that arrogant? You're going to argue with her about it right now?"

Karissa pulled off her reading glasses and set them down on her desk. "I am not being arrogant, Ronnie. I'm simply going to remind her that, not only do I have a higher clearance and position than her in terms of seniority, there are certain boundaries that must be respect for the good of everyone."

Ronnie raised an eyebrow. "If you said that to me in the same context you're going to be saying it to her, I would be concerned that you would be ready to rip my dick off and send it to my wife in a box."

Karissa sent him a disgusted look. "For god's sake, Ronnie, this isn't _Game of Thrones_. This is a matter of national and international security, and I am giving it the weighted consideration that it requires."

A heavy silence fell over them until the door to Karissa's office opened, and Kiara stepped in.

"Madame Mar," She said cordially. "Is your step-daughter doing well?"

"As well as a person can be following being shot," Karissa replied coldly. "She's going to be home in Atlas for awhile so she can properly heal. Ozpin agreed with me and Spencer that the course of action we've taken is the best for her."

Ronnie nervously ran a hand through his dark curls and adjusted his glasses. "Well, we're all hoping that she'll make a full recovery."

"Yes," Karissa said, then turning back to Kiara. "Might I ask why you thought it was appropriate to make a major decision about a matter you are not well-acquainted with while I was away in Vale due to a family emergency?"

Kiara raised an eyebrow. "Madame Mar, I don't believe I know what you're talking about."

"With all due respect, Madame Davis, I believe you do," Karissa took a small step towards her, straightening to her full height of 5'3''. "The matter regarding Rosalinde Varna? Does that not sound familiar to you?"

Kiara glanced to Ronnie. "I thought you had informed her of that duty being given to me."

"I believe I have made it more than clear that when I am unavailable that my decisions are to go to Madame Morell," Karissa sent Kiara sharp look. "Who I spoke to this morning and is rather irritated with you for the action you took without consideration of other viewpoints and complications."

Kiara sighed. "It had to be dealt with immediately."

"And I understand that," Karissa replied. "But that does not negate proper procedure –"

"I consulted Director Adel," Kiara informed her. "You may confer with him later if you wish, but he told me that, as you have never filed an official notice making Madame Morell your quote un quote second in command, the matter fell under my jurisdiction. I only did what I thought best. Keeping Rosalinde Varna in our custody is dangerous, and it is better from a foreign affairs standpoint to have her tried on Vytal alongside the other major kingdoms in neutral territory."

"To the contrary," Karissa said, her tone taking on a more noticeable edge. "I was rather close to settling a deal with the chancellor of Mistral, and the PM of Vale that would allow us to hold an international trial here in Atlas, of course, without the death penalty being a sentencing possibility as Vale and Mistral have outlawed it and we still practice it in Atlas."

"Which is not always a comfortable reality," Kiara said, pursing her lips. "And it would also be a contentious matter that would come up during the trial because of the involvement of Vale and Mistral. There are not many lists that include Atlas and Vacuo in the same…group, but major nations that still fully utilize capital punishment is one of them."

"I am fully aware of that, thank you very much," Karissa said, turning to Ronnie. "You intended for the decision to be made as more of a conference when you passed along the final call to it because of how serious it was, correct?"

Ronnie nodded. "I should have made that more clear, but yes."

"Regardless, intent is immaterial here," Kiara sent Karissa an almost triumphant smirk. "You see, Karissa, the law does not take into account intent in a matter such as this. I believe that area is not of your expertise, it is of mine."

"True," Karissa said, matching her tone perfectly. "The intricacies of the law are, naturally, your expertise but matters of foreign affairs and military deployments and national security are mine. In contrast, I do not believe you know as much of those matters as you like to believe."

Kiara's eyes flared angrily. "Are you insulting my intelligence?"

"No, I am not," Karissa said smoothly and with a bit more confidence than, perhaps, was warranted. "But I am reminding you that there are certain boundaries that must be respected. You know better than any of us that this is a grab for power, and that you are embarrassed about having lost ground upon which to prosecute Blake Belladonna as her crimes, very recently, passed over the statute of limitations. For the good of everyone, I am asking you to, please, retract the order."

Kiara narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms. "And if I do not, Madame _Ciel_?"

"My apologies, Madame Davis," Karissa said, stepping over to her desk and pulling out an official document which had been signed by the entire security council and Dr. Brianna Ciel, the head of ethical oversight. "The 'please' was a nicety. That was an order."

Kiara twitched irritably upon reading over the document. "You overrode me?"

"If you recall, under the law, I have the authority to do so if I can obtain the support of the head of ethical oversight and security council," Karissa sighed. "And that was a difficult feat, I'll admit."

"Dr. Ciel hates me," Kiara snapped. "She signed this to spite me –"

"She is only one of the thirty people that had to sign off on it," Karissa reminded her. "And Director Adel, while he agrees with your position, did not agree with how you went about it and signed off on the order, albeit hesitantly. You will find his signature on there, as well as the others."

Kiara scowled at her, unable to think of a response as she looked at the order, and stalked off to her office angrily to write the retraction she was now required to.

"That was something else," Ronnie remarked, and Karissa shrugged. "How do you do that?"

"I'm not going to give away my secrets," Karissa said with a semi-relaxed smile. "And I'm certainly never going to give it away to her."

* * *

"Alright," Caitlin said, slowly sitting down in a bean-bag chair in Natalie's one. "I took the day off to spend time with you while you recover from being shot by the psychopathic daughter of a psychopathic woman."

Natalie scowled. "That's unhelpful."

"I'm sorry," Caitlin said dryly. "Would it have been better if I told you that I took the day off in order to play nursemaid to you because you had a really bad accident when you and your girlfriend tried to have sex in a hayloft?"

Natalie's irritation melted quickly into disgust. "Gross, Caitlin."

"Well, someone has to get through to you," She said, crossing her arms. "And if it's me, then it will be."

Natalie leaned slowly back against her bed. "Look, I feel bad enough. Can you not make it worse?"

"I'm not trying to," Caitlin told her. "But I am trying to make it clear to you that it's not your fault that you're young and naïve."

Natalie sent her an irritated look. "I am not naïve –"

"Really?" Caitlin raised an eyebrow. "I thought you refused to believe conclusive evidence that Alice was not only Rosalinde Varna's daughter, but that she was in league with her. If you're afraid –"

"I'm not afraid of admitting that I was wrong," Natalie snapped. "But I know you are."

Caitlin stared at her for a long time, biting at her lip.

"I…" She sighed heavily. "You're right that I'm afraid of being wrong, that I'm afraid of falling from whatever graces I may have with whatever forces may or may not exist in this universe. And you know something? It hasn't made me any happier. It's one of the core reasons I'm the way I am…but it's also one of the core reasons for this."

Natalie grimaced upon Caitlin pulling up the left sleeve of her blazer to reveal her scars from cutting – some of them noticeably recent.

"Oh god, no," Natalie said, feeling a bit sick. "I don't want to think about that too much…"

"I don't either," She admitted. "But you and I both know that you can't escape the scars that are left behind."

"We've both had our own trauma –" Natalie started.

"Agreed," Caitlin said, delicately bringing her sleeve back down to cover. "And that isn't something that's going to go away. It's always going to find a way back…some way or another."

Natalie fought back tears and stared up at the ceiling. "So, all this time, we were wrong?"

"About somethings?" Caitlin hesitated. "Well, yes, but that doesn't mean that we've burnt everything to the ground, does it?"

Natalie considered that. "Of course not."

"It's not the end of us," She told her. "Cutting…trauma…depression…it's absolute hell, but that doesn't mean that it has to take us down. If we keep fighting…then we're going to survive. But we have to make the conscious choice to try and survive, now don't we?"

Natalie swallowed hard. "Well…"

"Natalie," Caitlin said gently. "Have you or I ever gone to where we really want to go beyond success in career field or academics?"

She was silent for a long moment. "Not really."

"Cas and I are in love, and we are happy in our marriage," She said, running a hand through her hair. "But that doesn't mean that things are by any means easy for us. It's difficult, and we have to fight though our individual problems by each other's sides. Everything that we're trying to do…it can't be done alone. I don't think I can honestly express to you how damn long it took for me to realize that fact."

Natalie bit her lip. "So, what are we supposed to do?"

"I'm not sure," Caitlin sighed heavily. "But, at the end of the day, I only hope that the things we're doing are right…because, if they're not, what have we been fighting for all along?"

Natalie bit at her lip. "That's a terrible possibility."

"I agree," Caitlin said, then looking nervously at her hands as they began to spark ever so slightly. "Natalie, you know about what happened with the mirror, don't you?"

She nodded. "I overheard Emmeline telling a bit about it to my dad."

Caitlin sighed. "I think it might have transferred some of its magic into me."

Natalie shifted, regardless of the pain, to look at her. "Are you serious?"

Caitlin focused herself on the candle stick on Natalie's nightstand and, narrowing her bright green eyes behind her glasses, she forced herself to imagine it levitating at her will. Sure enough, it did, and, upon her motioning with her fingers, it moved where directed.

"That," She said slowly. "Is one of the scariest things that I have ever done in my entire life."

Natalie was silent, primarily out of awe. "I can't believe that you gained magic from that mirror. Does Cas know?"

Caitlin hesitated. "Well…"

"You haven't told her, have you?" Natalie stared at her. "Why?"

"Honestly because I'm scared," Caitlin said, then shaking her head. "But also because I don't want her to think I'm anything like Cinder…the only…born sorceress in her family."

"Technically, Courtney is a born sorceress," Natalie reminded her, and Caitlin scowled. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault," She said tiredly. "And Courtney is a different case."

"I know," Natalie said. "Sorry."

"I don't know what I'm going to do," Caitlin told her as she stood up. "I honestly don't, and it's making me sick."

"Alright, you've helped me out today, so I'm going to tell you exactly what to do," Natalie said, and Caitlin nodded subtly. "Tell her. Once you do that, won't you be free?"

Caitlin considered that. "I suppose…"

"Please don't let this hurt you," Natalie said. "All of us have been through enough. Isn't that what you said?"

Caitlin stared at her for a moment. "You're right," She finally said. "I have to do this."

Natalie smiled weakly. "Good luck…"

Caitlin sighed. "You make it sound as if we have a lot of that anymore, you really do…"

* * *

"I cannot believe that happened," Allison said as she paced. "It's absolutely horrible."

"I know," Cristal said, glancing over her files though she was completely distracted by her thoughts. "And Natalie may not make a full recovery. Her side was messed up pretty bad by the shot."

Allison shook her head. "And Kiara Davis thinks that we need to transport Varna? Absolutely not. If her daughter is capable of this, she could spring her mother –"

"I know," Cristal sighed. "Allison, can I tell you something that I haven't wanted to discuss with anyone?"

She raised an eyebrow. "That sounds ominous."

"Al…" Cristal started tiredly. "Please don't."

Allison looked at her in concern. "What happened?"

Cristal was silent for a long moment, struggling to decide how she was to describe what she had been through.

"Chrissy," Allison said. "I know you, and you shoot to kill, and you always do."

Cristal grimaced. "That's a little too close."

Allison sighed. "Chrissy, you know I didn't mean that literally."

"I know that," She snapped. "But it doesn't…"

"Hey," She said, sending her a pointed yet sympathetic look. "I know that you've been through a lot, but things have been getting better. It's going to be fine –"

"So much is not fine!" Cristal exclaimed. "Have you been completely under a rock for the last few months?"

Allison scowled. "Of course not –"

"Then how is it that you can still give me a hope speech?" Cristal bit her lip as she glanced out her window behind her towards the city. "You've seen what's going on."

Allison rubbed her neck. "I know…and I'm trying to convince myself that we're doing what's right."

"We are," Cristal said. "In most respects."

"I don't mean with the group," Allison amended. "I meant with the Council."

Cristal snorted. "If you call taking rash action regarding Varna doing what's right."

"Kiara did make a grab for power," Allison agreed. "And I was pretty annoyed with Blake when he told me that he agreed with her that it would be better for us to move Varna for trial on Vytal. He said that what would happen here would be a show trial."

"See?" Emmett said as he stepped into the room. "I'm not the only one who thinks that."

"I completely agree with you, so does Oz," Cristal reminded him. "But if you bring the issue up with Emmeline again –"

"I'm not going to piss off Emmy by bringing up the words Varna and trial again," Emmett said, adjusting his glasses as he spoke. "Give me some credit, Chrissy."

She shrugged. "I would give you more credit if you didn't act like an idiot half the time."

Emmett raised an eyebrow. "Me? An idiot? Never!"

Allison laughed. "Emmett!"

"I'll admit, I have done some stupid things," He said, then shaking his head. "Emmy's one of the primary reasons that I've managed to figure out how to be a decent parent."

Cristal glared. "If you're trying to accuse me of alcoholism –"

"I'm not," Emmett said, putting his hands up in mock surrender. "I swear, Chrissy, I'm not."

She smirked. "Good."

"But, to the point on Kiara," Emmett said seriously. "I think what she did was the right call, but that it was for terrible reasons. We all know that she was trying to grab power that she wouldn't typically get the chance to take for herself."

"That's unsettling," Allison remarked dryly. "Frankly, it reminds me of my father."

"I see the correlation," Cristal said, albeit a bit hesitantly. "From the standpoint of a desire for power. Kiara is, for all her faults, law abiding. Even this was within the law."

"The question I have, though, is should it be," Allison replied. "Because someone much worse than her could eventually use the same loophole she did –"

"That loophole wouldn't grant someone authority over the entire kingdom," Emmett reminded her. "It's not a good thing at any rate, but it's not inherently dangerous to the preservation of our freedom."

Allison sighed. "You know why I'm paranoid."

"You have every reason to be," Cristal said sympathetically. "Especially with your history in mind."

Allison was quiet for a time, then looking to Cristal.

"What exactly was it that you wanted to tell me?" She asked her. "You seemed worried about it."

Emmett raised an eyebrow, looking to his sister in concern. "Does this have anything to do with having talked to dad?"

Allison turned on her heel towards him in shock. "Nicholas is alive?"

"No," Cristal told her. "But…"

"Magic is a dangerous force," Emmett surmised, and Cristal gestured towards him in slight exasperation. "And mom was right about something for once."

Cristal groaned. "Don't remind me…"

"Hey," Emmett said. "I'm not any happier about it than you are."

"After everything that she's done…" Cristal shook her head. "She barely even qualifies as a mother."

"Amen," Emmett said, clasping his hands together dramatically. "Now, does anyone want a drink because I feel like I'm going to need one."

Cristal scoffed. "This isn't the time for drinking, Emmett."

He sighed. "I know."

"Listen," Allison said. "I'm really confused at the moment, and I would appreciate it if both of you explained what the hell it is that you're talking about right now."

Emmett and Cristal exchanged nervous glances.

"Well," Cristal began. "The gist of it is that my niece-in-law managed to unlock a magic mirror that has been in my family for ages and that none of us had been able to make any damn sense of. My father spoke to us through it, and then he disappeared. Oz, Courtney, myself, Emmett, Emmeline, Caitlin, Cas, Ari, and Ella were all there, and I don't think I've spent more of a night crying in my entire life."

Emmett stared at her. "You spent most of that night crying?"

Cristal bit her lip. "Oz honestly thought that I was going to snap, if that tells you anything. He's still worried about me –"

"Of course he is!" Emmett exclaimed, then awkwardly embracing his sister. "Chrissy, he loves you more than anything else in the world."

Cristal sighed. "I know that, but –"

"It'll be okay," Allison said. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but it will be."

"Al," She eventually said as she pushed up her glasses. "What is it with you and the hope speeches?"

Allison glanced out the window at the city life below. "Sometimes, it's all we've got, isn't it?"


	109. Chapter 109

_**May 3rd  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
9:23 PM**_

Alice Varna pulled her scarf a little further over her head as she continued to walk through the main town of the city of Atlas. Though she had changed her eye color from violet to grey and her hair color from dark brown to blonde with magic, she was worried that she would be caught. After all, the kingdom had figured out, with the help of Ozpin and several professors at Beacon, that she had been the one who had almost killed Natalie Ciel. She knew that she was supposed to have killed her, but she also knew that the point had been to make a scene. With everything else aside, she had certainly succeeded in that. It did not, however, help her mother's chances of release. There had been rumors floating that Kiara Davis had been forced to retract her order to try Varna on Vytal because of the president's trepidation, but more people believed that it had been ordered by the senators and representatives of the commons. 600 different people could not have agreed upon that, Alice was convinced. She had a different enemy in this situation, a different politician to be angry with.

The woman she was thinking of was Karissa Adeline Mar.

The head of the DFAMA. A member of the Ciel family through marriage. The mother of Spencer Ciel's youngest child. The stepmother of Natalie, Matt, and Percival. It all made too much sense in Alice's mind. She could all but picture the woman smirking as she forced Davis to keep Varna behind bars in Atlas, where she would surely be treated as an insurgent, as the incarnation of evil. While Alice knew her mother had committed acts that Atlas and Vale would consider to be heinous crimes, she did not see her mother as guilty. Nor did she see herself as guilty for what she did Natalie. For as much as she had felt some semblance of upset in the moment, after, that had all faded away. The adrenaline that had filled her in the act of murder or, considering the outcome, attempted murder, made her feel powerful. She was fully aware that there was no going back from what she had done, but she was beyond the point of caring. After all, she was set to be as powerful as mother.

"Miss?" A guard said, a hint of warning in his voice as she walked up the steps of the offices of the Council. "ID."

Alice sighed heavily, pulling out her forged ID. "Don't you know who I am?"

The guard narrowed his eyes as he looked over and scanned her ID. Sure enough, it read as it was legitimate. In spite of the way he was a constant thorn in the sides of her and her mother, Watts had proven himself useful in more than one respect before.

"Who are you here to see?" He asked. "There are not a whole lot of people here now."

Alice smiled. "Madame Mar."

The guard raised an eyebrow and checked her status. "Madame Mar is still here…however…"

"However?" Alice prompted. "Why the trepidation?"

The guard shook his head. "I need to inspect your purse and scan you before I can let you speak with her."

Alice swallowed hard as she used her magic to conceal her gun within her purse. "Alright."

The guard motioned her inside and over to a table, upon which he emptied all of the contents of her purse which could be emptied. "Just makeup and lien."

Alice bit at her lip as he carefully dropped her things back into her purse. Tensing as he scanned her down with the detector, she did not breathe a sigh of relief until after it declared her clear.

"One minute," The guard said, stepping over to a PA and connecting to Karissa's office. "Madame Mar?"

"…Yes?" A tired voice said through the system.

"I have a young woman here who would like to speak with you," The guard informed her. "She's completely clear – no weapons, no traces of metal or radioactive materials, or dust – and has a legitimate ID for your department."

A silence held over the line for a moment.

"…Alright," She finally said. "…But only for a few minutes. I need to get home."

"Understood," The guard said, disconnecting from the PA system and turning back to Alice. "You may head out. Sixth floor, third door on the left."

Alice nodded and, without another word, stepped towards the elevator with her purse tightly against her arm. Activating her magic once more to retrieve her gun, she reminded herself that she was not to do anything except for injure. Prove their vulnerability, prove that no one is safe or untouchable. Not even power, not even a family name, not even a _dynasty_ can escape pain or strife. Alice gritted her teeth as the elevator continued to ascend, and she could only think of her mother and father locked up – largely because of Mar. The woman, in her mind, was merciless and cruel. Everything, it seemed, she did for power or love. Two of the most dangerous forces in the world, by Alice and Rosalinde's counts. After all, was it not love that had trapped them in the messes that they were in?

There was nothing left, and there would be no chance at regaining it if Atlas were to detain Varna for the end of time. Stepping out haughtily as the doors opened, Alice looked around the floor. Using a spell, she knocked the guards unconscious and, with another, disabled the communications systems. Whatever it was that she was to do, it would only be caught by security camera and, by then, it would be too late to stop. A smirk rising on her face, Alice began to remove her disguise but paused upon hearing raised voices in the office in front of her. She paused completely, her heart pounding against her chest. Fixing her disguise, she slipped her gun back into her bag and instead removed her ID. Biting at her lip, she hesitantly stepped a little closer in order to hear what was being said – and by and to whom.

"…Ronnie, I'm more than aware of that…" A female voice said irritably. "…I have no idea how we're going to approach the matter, but you know more how to than I do. I was a journalist, and then an intelligence analyst before I became the chair of the Atlesian National Security Council. You were a senator, and you know how to deal with other members of the commons. Please figure something out, we need them to approve this order because I do not want to have to issue a subpoena."

"…Elizabeth –" He began.

"…She's right," Another male voice said. "…And the –"

"…James, are you sure that the –"

"…I'm not in the mood to debate this," Elizabeth said shortly. "…Now, please, can we return to the more pressing matter that I have an actual background in?"

Alice slowly walked down to Karissa's office and, just as she scanned her ID which was temporarily approved for access, used yet another spell to muffle sound within the office upon the door closing.

"Miss Lysander," The azure haired woman said, removing and folding up her reading glasses as she stood up. "You wished to speak with me?"

Alice slammed the door behind her with her foot and removed her disguise with her magic, causing the woman to take a step back in both shock and horror.

"You have the wrong name," She said slyly. "How are you doing, Karissa?"

She took in a sharp breath, struggling to maintain her composure as she reached for her office com. "I…damn it!"

"That won't work," Alice informed her. "You should know by now that magic has its ways."

Karissa sent her a scowl. "After everything you've done, why can't you leave well enough alone –"

"Because you've incarcerated my mother –" Alice snapped.

"Your mother is guilty of a multitude of crimes, including genocide," Karissa replied, matching the young woman's tone perfectly with narrowed eyes. "How is it that you can justify –"

"Because she has no choice," Alice sneered. "How unfortunate it is for you that you haven't unlocked your aura, let alone your semblance."

Karissa reached for one of the hefty volumes on her shelf as the young woman pulled out a gun, but found herself instead unable to move as a result of the young woman's magic. Within a matter of seconds, Alice pin pointed her target and shot her hard in her left shoulder. Karissa let out a shriek of pain upon the bullet piercing her skin. Without an aura to absorb some of the shock, she could feel nothing but pure pain spreading through her as the blood began to pool and stain her crème blazer. Firing another shot, this time towards her chest, Alice made certain to shoot below the heart and she shot just below one of her right ribs. Karissa collapsed to ground in agonizing pain, and Alice released her summoned restraints. With that, she vanished away upon hearing running from the hall and a buzz from the security system indicating that it had been activated. She was not seen and escaped completely unscathed.

A dizzy feeling came over Karissa as she fell over onto her knees. Her caught herself, but only barely, and she was laying on the floor with blood spilling out from her shoulder and her chest. The only thing she could feel was the terrible pain against her body to the point at which she almost felt numb. Her head was resting against her right arm, and she was too weak to stand up. Even as the door to her office opened frantically, she could barely move. Elizabeth let out a short shriek of horror, but quickly ran over to her and pulled out her scroll to call for medical aid. With Ronnie and James' help, she lifted Karissa up and carried her down the stairs to where the ambulance quickly arrived. Shortly before being taken to the hospital, Karissa fell unconscious. Following behind them, Elizabeth drove while Ronnie began to make several calls to the family although he hesitated over the final number.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked him as they paused at the red lighted intersection. "Ronnie?"

"Spencer," He said, then sighing heavily. "If Karissa doesn't…if she…if she doesn't make it, he's going to be completely destroyed –"

"Ronnie, you have to tell him what happened," Elizabeth sent him a pointed look. "There's no way around it, there's just not. Tell him the truth, tell him to come see her –"

"And if it breaks him?" Ronnie countered as she began again upon the light changing. "What then?"

"If you don't tell him, I will," Elizabeth snapped. "So, do it, damn it."

"Eliza," James said gently, reaching over and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure that –"

"If you're about to ask if I'm alright –" She started.

"I don't want anything to happen to her either," He said, gently squeezing her shoulder. "And –"

"Just call him," Elizabeth said bluntly, glancing to Ronnie. "This is horrible enough as it is."

"Eliza," James said, looking at her in concern. "Your eyes."

Elizabeth glanced into the side view mirror and swore upon seeing the sparks of her maiden powers.

"Damn it!" She swore, quickly deactivating her powers as she realized that she was beginning to burn the steering wheel with them. "I cannot believe –"

"It's okay to be emotional," James said, and she sighed. "I promise."

Elizabeth stared down the road tensely. "I just…"

"Try and stay calm," He said, running a hand through his hair. "I don't want anything to happen to you either."

Elizabeth bit her lip. "James –"

"I love you," He said quietly. "And I –"

"I love you too," She replied almost inaudibly. "I just…I need to process all of this."

And silence overtook the car for a moment until Ronnie made it through the line to Spencer.

* * *

"Cas?" Caitlin called out as she stepped into their apartment and slipped off her heels. "Are you home?"

"In here!" She called back, and Caitlin sighed heavily as she shut and locked the door. "You okay?"

Caitlin hesitated as she stepped into the living room.

"Oh god," Cas said, setting her book aside and pushing up her glasses. "You look as close to translucent as a person can be."

"Cas…" Caitlin said, her hands shaking. "I have to tell you something uncomfortable."

Cas stared at her in concern and motioned for her to sit down on the couch beside her. "What is it, Caity?"

She stared at her hands and began to fidget with her wedding ring.

"Caity?" Cas said, placing a hand on her shoulder and her concern only growing upon her wife flinching. "I'm worried about you, honey. I know you're constantly worried, tense, and a variety of other things…but –"

"That mirror did something to me," She finally bit off, and Cas' blue eyes went wide in both surprise and confusion. "It…"

"What are you talking about?" Cas asked her gently. "The magic mirror in Beacon's Vault?"

Caitlin nodded weakly. "Cas, it…"

Cas stared as her wife manipulated the wine bottle on the kitchen counter over and into her hands.

"Magic…" She finished, using it once again to rip the cork out. "It transferred magic into me."

Cas bit her lip upon her wife taking back a surprisingly strong sip of wine from the bottle.

"Caity," Cas said, taking the bottle from her and setting it down on the coffee table. "Don't go and get yourself wasted because you're scared. Besides the point –"

"I know, more than a glass of wine will make me throw up because of my antidepressant," Caitlin buried her face in her hands. "Why is it that I have to take the short end of every stick?"

"I don't know, I just don't," Cas reassuringly began to rub her back. "But I'm going to get you through this just like I have gotten you through everything else. I'm sure your mom will –"

"No, I can't…" Caitlin pulled her glasses off and set them aside as she all but collapsed into her wife. "I can't tell my mom…"

"Why not?" Cas asked her, beginning to stroke her hair. "She loves you, she'll want to help you –"

"The mirror turned me into a sorceress…" Caitlin reminded her weakly. "What if it is the reason Cinder was a sorceress? What if that's the real reason Victoria hid it away? You know just as well as I do that evil isn't born, it's made…by a lust for power, or by hatred, or by –"

"You are nothing like her," Cas said, giving her a gentle squeeze. "And you never will be because that is not who you are. I know you better than anyone, and you are nothing like my aunt. If you want proof, I'm sure my parents could tell you – hell, your parents –"

"You act like I want to talk about my mom with my father," Caitlin said quietly. "You know how difficult everything involving my family has been since the divorce –"

"I know," Cas sighed. "Your mother will agree with me, I know she will. She's the Summer Maiden now, too. She can help you with this alongside me, she can help you learn to use your powers –"

"I'm terrified of them!" Caitlin exclaimed, fighting back further tears. "I don't want them to corrupt me –"

"And they won't," Cas said, pulling her as tightly into her as she possibly could. "You trust me, don't you?"

Caitlin stared at her, green eyes wide. "Of course I trust you, you're my wife –"

"Trust me on this," Cas said softly, pressing a kiss to her lips. "Please. I am going to get you through this, I swear it."

Caitlin was silent for a long moment, but then nodded. "I trust you."

"Good," Cas said, still holding her close. "I love you so much, Caity."

Caitlin brushed tears away from her eyes. "I love you too, Cassie…"

"I will always be here for you," Cas swore. "And I am never going to leave you."

"I want you to stay…" Caitlin murmured. "I need you."

Cas kissed her forehead. "And I you…this will turn out, I promise."

Caitlin closed her eyes as she let herself fall into her wife's embrace. "I believe you…"

* * *

Spencer Ciel shakily set down his scroll. "No…" He breathed, tears rising in his eyes.

"Daddy?" Natalie limped into the room and pulled herself up onto the counter. "What is it? You don't look well."

Spencer, almost trance-like, pushed her ibuprofen towards her along with water. "I know it helps…it's not as strong as what the doctor wanted you to take, but…after…after what the OxyContin has done to me…"

Natalie bit her lip, eyeing him worriedly. "You look sick."

Spencer ran a hand through his hair, not caring that his shoulder length dark waves were in tangles. "Nattie –"

"Daddy!" Luna all but shrieked, running into the kitchen in her pyjamas and clutching her stuffed bunny to her chest. "Is mommy going to be home soon?"

Spencer stared at her for a moment, but, unable to stop it, buried his face in his hands and started sobbing.

"Luna…" Natalie said awkwardly, still sipping her water. "Why don't you go to sleep?"

Luna pouted. "But I want mommy…"

"Well, she's not here right now," Natalie snapped, then pointing down the hall. "To sleep. Now."

Luna stared at her sister, a bit afraid, and scurried off faster than she had come. Upon hearing the door to her sister's room slamming shut, Natalie turned to her father.

"She's not…" Natalie bit her lip. "She's not dead, is she?"

"She could die…" Spencer said, a slight catch in his voice. "She was shot in the chest and shoulder."

Natalie bit her lip. "Oh god."

"I…" Spencer brushed tears away from his eyes and forced himself to look to his daughter. "I need to be alone for a little, Natalie. Please?"

She nodded. "I'm going to tell Matt and Percival…they have a right to know."

Spencer did not respond and instead collapsed against the cabinets, pressing the palm of his hand against his forehead as he began to sob once more. Just the possibility of losing Karissa felt destructive. His stomach felt sick, his head hurt, and he felt as if there was a darkness closing in around him. It felt horrible, it felt wrong, and it only brought back the horror of his first wife's death. Karissa was where everything in his life was centered, the sole woman he truly loved. He knew full well that his relationship with Arianna had been volatile and that the two of them had set each other off more often than not – a fact he would never admit to his children. Yet, after Natalie had been born and, later, her brothers, it all seemed a bit more manageable. It was not until after he had fallen in love with and married Karissa that he had realized what it felt like to need one person more than anyone else. It was like Emmeline and Emmett, from his perspective.

He knew he had fallen into addiction for a multitude of reasons, of which included his mother's death, increased violence towards the family, the then-year-old Percival's diagnosis with leukemia. His youngest son was one of the lucky ones and had been successfully cured by the time he was four. Regardless of that, there was always the threat of a relapse and that was something that Spencer had yet to tell his son – it was something he could barely bring himself to consider. The car accident he had been in that same year, which had almost killed him, left him with severe injuries that led to the prescription of OxyContin. It was from there that he knew he had fallen down a slope that could very well kill him. When his children had been nine, eight, and six, and he had begun his relationship with Karissa, he had not been sure that he would live as long as he had. Yet she had done everything in her power to keep him alive and it had worked.

It hurt more than anything else could to know that he was powerless to keep her alive.

Down the hall, as their father broke down and could not decide whether he was numb or in pain, it was not much better for the three eldest of his children. Percival had immediately set down his physics book upon Natalie walking in, raising an eyebrow as he adjusted his glasses. Matt had flipped himself upside down and sent her a funny look from his position on the ceiling. She glowered as she shut the door quietly behind herself. The very last thing she wanted – let alone needed – in that moment was for Luna to come in and realize that something had happened to her mother, something horrible. There was a silence between the three siblings for a long moment. Sensing the serious tension, Matt climbed down from the ceiling and sat down next to Percival and punched his brother's shoulder playfully before motioning for Natalie to speak.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," He commented. "You okay, Natalie?"

She bit at her lip. "I…I feel like this is all my fault."

Percival's brow furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about? Your accident? Nattie, that was Alice's fault –"

"I was stupid enough to put myself in the position for that to happen," She snapped, sitting down in one of the beanbags in the room. "But that's not what I'm talking about."

"Then what are you talking about?" Percival asked. "You look upset."

"I am upset!" She exclaimed. "Because, as much as I refuse to view Karissa as my mother, she's one of the few things in daddy's life that is stable anymore, and he might lose her!"

Matt stared at her. "What?"

"Karissa was shot up, presumably in her office since she hasn't been home since the morning," Natalie said almost tonelessly. "Shoulder and chest. Being taken to the hospital…and, based on daddy's appearance, barely alive."

Percival paled. "No! Mom can't die, she can't!"

"She's not our –" Natalie snapped.

"What the _hell_ is wrong with you?" Matt snapped back. "I don't care if you don't view her as your mother, she's daddy's wife and he loves her so damn much! You are capitalizing on the fact that she's not our biological mother when she might die, really? She's been our mother in every sense but biological! I remember our biological mother just as well as you do, and you seem to worship her, but it wasn't like that? Have you forgotten being eight and seeing her break a vase during one of her and daddy's fights? Well, do you? Do you remember how hesitant she was to spend as much money as we did on Percy's treatment –"

"Can we not talk about that?" Percival said quietly, rubbing his arm. "I don't care that I don't remember it, I don't want to consider the possibility that I could have died."

Matt sighed. "Sorry."

Natalie bit her lip. "How can you not –"

"Nattie, Karissa is who daddy loves and needs," Matt said as gently as he could. "And Luna needs her mother. How do you think she would feel if she lost her mother around seven, much like I did?"

Natalie swallowed hard. "I…I…"

It was not only her who was conflicted in that moment, however. Feeling worse than he had ever felt, Spencer stared at the syringe of diamorphine in his hand. He had filled it to the point of almost spilling out and was only intending to inject just enough to make him calm enough to handle everything. The high, he thought, would let him comprehend it all without snapping. Swallowing hard, he pressed his forearm against the counter and steadied the needle of the syringe into the vein in the crook of his elbow. Closing his eyes, and praying that his wife, his love, would be alright, he pressed down against the syringe but his hand slipped. Without even realizing it, he injected the entire syringe into his body. It and the needle slipped out of his hand and fell to the ground, and he started to walk towards the door upon hearing a knock. Unsteadily opening it as the pure numbness of the diamorphine began to overtake him, he barely even made eye contact with his sister before she embraced him tightly.

"Spencer…" She said quietly, letting him go. "I'm so sorry…I hope she'll be alright, I –"

"'Rissa…" Spencer felt his vision start to blur as he lost his balance. "I can't lose her…"

"Spencer!" Emmeline exclaimed in horror, barely catching her brother before he collapsed completely unconscious. "Motherfucker!"

Laying him down on the ground gently, she ran over towards the cabinets and tore them open, looking for the temporary counteract to what she knew had to be an overdose. She knew the signs all too well from over the years, and she could not help but curse out Ronnie as she grabbed the counteract and injected it into Spencer for telling him what had happened.

"He should have known it would cause him to snap!"

She let out an upset cry before activating her semblance to pause time and carry him out to her car. As soon as he was secured, she let go of her semblance and let time start again but drove almost dangerously through the roads and to the ER. Spencer was quickly taken in to be detoxed and, as Emmeline called Natalie to warn her to stay at home and ensure everything remained alright, the General could not stop the feeling of not only desperation, but complete upset and fear as to what was happening to all of them. It seemed as if nothing was going to be alright, as if the entire world was set to come crashing down. Nothing was truly safe anymore, and options seemed to be growing fewer in number by the day. Peace seemed to be fading, and, as she stepped out into the main hall to wait for any word on the conditions of her brother and sister-in-law, she was almost oblivious to her surroundings until she inadvertently slammed into Elizabeth.

"Jesus Christ!" She shrieked, then calming herself. "Emmeline, sorry, I'm just –"

"I know, I am too…" She shook her head and sent Ronnie a dark look. "How could you tell him –"

"It's not his fault," Elizabeth said weakly. "I told him to. I was panicked, I wasn't thinking…"

"Oh my god…" Emmeline sighed heavily as she glanced towards ICU. "Eliza, what are we going to do –"

"Just wait," She said softly. "That's all we really can do."

Emmeline glanced to James. "Do you agree with her?"

He hesitated but nodded. "Yes, I do."

Elizabeth turned to him for a moment, her eyes wide before she wrapped her arms tightly around him and began to cry in spite of herself.

"How many more people have to die or be put damn close to it because of this war?" She whispered. "Is it even worth fighting if it always ends up like this?"

He stroked her hair gently in an attempt to comfort her. "I don't know what's going to happen, Eliza, I just don't."

"I know…" She said. "I wish I did, though."

Ronnie and Emmeline shared a knowing look.

"How bad is Spencer?" He finally asked. "All I heard was that he had been brought in because of an overdose."

"That's exactly why," Emmeline said, anxiously twisting her waist length hair in her hands. "I don't think it was intentional, but…"

Ronnie bit his lip. "I don't want to think about it."

"I'm just hoping that they'll both be okay," She said, pausing for a moment and listening to the constant sounds of beeping and low voices and feet against the floor. "I don't –"

"President Ciel?" A young nurse said from the other end of the room, and both Emmeline and Ronnie turned to see their father. "Why are you here, sir?"

"As far as I know…" He said, a struggle to remain calm clear in his voice. "My daughter-in-law was nearly killed, and my youngest son had an overdose."

The nurse typed into his computer quickly, nodded shortly. "Sir –"

"May I see them?" He asked, a panicked edge to his voice. "Please."

"I'm afraid that Madame Mar is still unconscious and undergoing blood transfusion," The nurse informed him. "It looks like, based on this, that the bullets were removed, and she was stitched up, but it is also noted that she lost quite a bit of blood and requires transfusion. She has a pulse, and her brain is still communicating…she's just unable to break consciousness. We have no idea when or if she'll come to. As for…"

A pause held over for a moment as the nurse clicked onto Spencer's file.

"Your son is being detoxed from heroin overdose," The nurse said, then sighing heavily. "Based on witness evidence and circumstances, it may have been intentional."

"Dad?" Ronnie said as he and Emmeline reached him. "Are you okay?"

Edward was silent for a minute, then nervously adjusting his bowler hat.

"No," He said, his voice unusually quiet. "I may very well lose a son and his wife today…after everything, when will this cycle of damnation ever end for us?"

Ronnie chewed at the inside of his cheek for a moment. "I…I don't know, but it…it seems like we may be at the brink of something worse."

"Which leads us to one important consideration," Emmeline said softly. "I've said this for over a decade, but I'll say it again: when the first shots are finally fired in the war…who are any of us going to be able to trust?"


	110. Chapter 110

_**May 5th  
Atlesian Main Hospital  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
1:47 PM**_

"What the…" Karissa Mar groaned as her eyes groggily opened. "The –"

"Thank god!" Emmeline said, breathing a sigh of relief as she stepped over to her. "Karissa?"

"Emmeline?" She stared at her as her vision began to clear up a bit. "Where exactly am I?"

"Madame Mar," A calm voice said from her other side. "Do you not recall what happened?"

Karissa looked around and tried to push herself up though she struggled through the pain that began to spread from her mid-chest and left shoulder.

"I…" She bit her lip as she finally managed to adjust herself to a more comfortable position. "I…I remember being restrained…and I…I…there was a young woman…she…shot me…"

"Do you know who the woman was?" The doctor asked. "Madame Mar?"

Karissa was silent for a long moment, struggling to recall before her eyes went wide.

"Karissa?" Emmeline said, eyeing her in concern. "What is it?"

"It…" Karissa sighed heavily. "Alice…"

"Who's Alice?" The doctor pressed. "You described her as young –"

"Alice Varna," Karissa said, her voice hoarse. "And –"

"Drink this," Emmeline told her, handing her warm tea. "It'll help with your voice, I promise. I've done this in the field before –"

"Thank you, General Ciel," The doctor said, allowing Karissa a moment to drink before going on. "When you say Varna, are you referring to a relative of the detained, criminal –"

"Yes, the daughter of Rosalinde Varna," Karissa snapped. "She –"

"Karissa, please, it's going to be alright," Emmeline said, doing her best to calm her. "You're in a terrible state; you were shot in the shoulder and chest, and, even with having the bullets removed being quickly stitched up, you had a blood transfusion. I don't want you to make yourself worse."

She stared at her but then shook her head. "Where's Spencer? Don't tell me that he was forced to go to work after –"

"Karissa," Emmeline said as gently as she could, placing a hand over her sister-in-law's. "Spencer is currently being monitored in ICU because he came to from an overdose just two hours ago."

Karissa paled the little she could, looking even sicker than she already felt.

"What?" She said, her voice breaking. "No –"

"He's alive, he's fine, or, at least, going to be," Emmeline said calmly. "And it was an accident. He…he was distraught when he heard what had happened and he…he thought that he could calm himself with a bit of it but…his hand slipped –"

"He said that?" Karissa asked, her voice unusually weak as she fought against the urge to cry. "Emmeline –"

"He said that, and the security footage in your home proves it," Emmeline said, awkwardly leaning over to embrace her. "I don't know what any of us would have done if you had been killed…"

Karissa bit her lip. "I don't want to…I don't want to think about that too much…"

"Madame Mar," The doctor said kindly. "You don't have to worry. You are alive, you're going to be able to be released in a few days, and you should be able to make a full recovery. Your husband is alive, as well, and neither of you have lost someone important in your lives. There's nothing to worry about."

She sighed. "If only it were that simple."

Emmeline remained silent until the doctor left the room.

"Natalie's with Matt, Percy, and Luna," Emmeline told her, and Karissa nodded. "They haven't told Luna what happened, though. Not beyond you and Spencer not being able to be home because of an emergency."

Karissa stared at her for a moment. "Do you have my scroll, by any chance?"

Emmeline nodded and pulled it out of her bag. "Eliza got it from your office before the investigators closed it off for a three-day crime scene investigation. They have the security footage, of course, but you and I both know how these things work. Ronnie and my father were here earlier as well…actually, Emmett and James too. Chrissy came to check on you yesterday with Brianna. Honestly, we're all just glad you and Spencer are okay."

Karissa delicately took her scroll and called Percival, who quickly answered.

"Mom?" He said hopefully. "You there?"

"Percy," She said. "Is Luna awake, by any chance?"

"Yeah," He said, noticeable relief in his voice. "Why?"

"May I speak to her?" Karissa sighed upon hearing a hesitation. "Percy, she's my daughter."

"Okay," He said, and shuffling was heard over the line. "…Luna, you want to talk to mommy?"

A happy squeal was heard, and Karissa could not help but smile a bit.

"Mommy!" Luna all but shrieked happily. "Hi! It's Luna!"

"You okay, dear?" Karissa asked her. "I know Spence and I aren't home, but –"

"We're fine!" Luna declared. "Lili put little piggy tails in my hair!"

"I'm glad you're okay," Karissa said, pausing for a moment upon realizing that Emmeline had left the room though her bag was still there. "Spence and I will be home soon, just –"

"There's a needle here on the floor," Luna told her, and Karissa tensed in spite of herself. "And there's –"

"…Luna!" Natalie shrieked. "…Don't fucking touch that, let me –"

A whimper was heard from Luna, followed by shuffling.

"Mommy…" She said softly. "Why is Lili being mean?"

"I'll talk to her later, Luna," Karissa gently told her. "I'm looking forward to seeing you, I miss you, I really do."

Luna sniffed. "I miss you too, mommy."

"I'll talk to you and your siblings again later, okay?" Karissa said. "I love you, Luna."

"I love you too, mommy," The girl said quietly. "Love love."

Karissa sighed heavily as she closed her scroll and set it aside. Though not without a bit of pain, she ran her hand through her thick, tangled azure curls. For a few minutes which felt like hours, she tried to take in her surroundings. There was a constant sound of beeping, and the lights were almost uncomfortably bright. From where she was, she could see out the window. It was raining, as was typical in Atlas in May, and the rain made the city seem much darker than it should be for the afternoon. The sound of the water beating against the window in constant, rhythmic fashion was vaguely comforting. She tried to ignore the dull, numbing pain in her chest and shoulder, but this was difficult. Beside the physical pain, she could not stop herself from worrying about not only Luna, Matt, Percival, and Natalie, but Spencer as well. Knowing that he had overdosed had been upsetting enough, but their daughter finding what she was certain was the needle was worse.

"'Rissa?" A weak voice said, stepping into the room. "Are you okay?"

She looked up in surprise, unable to stop tears from falling this time. "Spencer?"

"I told you anyone will do anything I tell them," Emmeline said. "Well…sometimes."

Spencer, albeit unsteadily, walked over to and tightly embraced his wife as best he could. "I thought I was never going to see you again…"

"I know…" She said softly. "Spence –"

"I'm sorry…" He whispered. "I'm so sorry, I really am –"

"I'm just…" She delicately ran her fingers through his shoulder length, dark waves. "I'm just glad you're alright…"

"I love you…" He said, holding her tightly. "I love you so much, 'Rissa."

She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "I love you too, Spence…"

* * *

"I'm done with playing 'nice', I really am," Kiara Davis said, standing in front of Rosalinde Varna and Mark Carrington with Cinder by her side, a fireball in her hand aimed at Varna with three different guards aiming their guns at her head. "With anyone, but especially with you."

Varna scowled. "I see even Cinder can be intimidated by this Council."

"Yes, well," Cinder scowled at her, the familiar hatred that she held for the woman rising again. "As it happens, I like living and, at the moment, the Atlas Council is more likely to preserve my life than Salem."

Varna snorted. "If you weren't the Fall Maiden, Salem would have killed you for insolence a long time ago."

Cinder raised her hand to kill the woman but stopped upon feeling the metal of three shotguns against her head.

"Fine!" She exclaimed, lowering her hand. "I won't kill her!"

"I am going to ask you this one time, and one time only," Kiara said, taking a step imperiously towards Varna, who still had the nerve to smirk in spite of her fear. "What did you pull to have Karissa Mar nearly killed? She only came to about an hour or two ago. So, tell me: what did you do?"

Varna raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"

"Allow me to rephrase," Kiara said darkly. "What did you pull off so that your daughter would nearly kill Karissa Mar?"

"Me?" Varna laughed dryly. "I didn't do anything."

"You lying bitch –" Cinder started.

"Oh, Cinder…" Varna started, rolling her eyes. "You and I both know that you hide behind magic in order to feel powerful. You say you want to be feared, but you really only want to survive. You're no stronger than Torchwick, when it really comes down to it."

Cinder clenched her fists, the fireball shimmering out though her maiden powers did not deactivate.

"Miss Fall," Kiara said, sending her a pointed look. "Do not let her get a rise out of you, she's not worth it."

Cinder sighed heavily, but sent Varna a dark glare nonetheless.

"You say you didn't do anything," Kiara said, beginning to pace. "And, yet, I don't believe you."

"Because you are one of the most arrogant human beings alive," Varna replied. "You assume you always have to be right about everything, and you don't understand that you can be wrong –"

"Neither do you," Cinder remarked slyly. "After all, aren't you –"

"Oh, what do you know about me?" Varna snapped. "You've always had it all. Being the Fall Maiden is the real reason you're in this, but even you know that Salem pulled you in. You didn't choose this life, and you never would have."

"Immaterial," Kiara said, sending Varna a pointed look. "Cinder has already been dealt with for her crimes whereas you, on the other hand, have not. If I had my way, I would send you to Vytal tomorrow and begin an international trial –"

"Weren't you overridden on that matter?" Varna said, then laughing dryly. "By Karissa Mar and the security council?"

Kiara bristled. "So," She said. "You do have a personal vendetta against her."

"I have a personal vendetta against a great number of people," Varna replied. "But, yes, she is one of them."

"And you claim you have no involvement with what happened to Mar?" Kiara shook her head. "How can you possibly make that claim with any semblance of confidence –"

"Because, unlike you, I know that the simplest solution isn't always the answer," Varna smirked. "Consider the facts, prosecutor. That is part of your job, after all. At the end of the day, isn't there a personal, psychologically valid motive for why my daughter would go after Karissa Mar? She attempted to kill her stepdaughter and failed. That attempt was on my orders from before I was arrested."

Kiara sent a cursory glance towards Mark. "Did you have any knowledge of that?"

He sighed. "You and I both know that I am on about the same page as Rose."

Kiara considered that. "So, that means that the attack on Natalie Ciel was a broader conspiracy."

Varna snorted. "And people view you as a genius."

"I can tell you exactly why Alice went and attacked Karissa Mar," Cinder said, then gesturing irritably towards Mark and Varna. "And the two of them don't even have to lift a finger."

Kiara raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"She's afraid of her mother, for one, and she feels that when and if Varna is released or escapes that she will be damned because she didn't manage to kill Natalie Ciel," Cinder said, sighing dramatically as she went on. "And she also, I imagine, blames Karissa for her mother's arrest in the first place, meaning that, even if she didn't successfully kill her, that she would get some sense of revenge on her. That's not even taking into account the fact that she's making a scene. She probably sees Spencer and Karissa as the weak-links of the Ciel family, and therefore the easiest to take out. It's all inherently logical…if you can think like a psychopathic killer."

Kiara was silent for a long moment. "That," She eventually said. "I'll admit, is plausible."

Varna laughed dryly. "I know my daughter. What your cooperating little sorceress here just said is exactly what my daughter would do, I already know it."

"You really think that Alice would do that?" Mark stared at her. "She's not that vengeful –"

"Please, you don't view anything as vengeful," Varna scoffed. "You think almost everything is justified even when it's truly revenge. There's nothing wrong with revenge, but you seem to think that there is."

Mark sighed. "Rose, there is a difference between vengeance and justice –"

"Oh, I know that," Varna said with a faint smirk. "But that difference means nothing to me."

"It means a lot to everyone else," Cinder told her, crossing her arms. "But maybe you missed that."

Varna raised an eyebrow. "Really, am I being lectured about morality by _Cinder Fall_?"

Cinder scowled. "I may have killed a few people in the name of power or self-defense, but I would never manipulate myself up to the top of a government and go on to do the opposite of what I claimed to fight for, nor would I kill my own people."

Varna took in a sharp breath and stood up indignantly. "How dare you!"

"How dare I?" Cinder demanded. "How dare _I_?"

"There is something wrong with you, and it is not just –"

"Enough!" Kiara exclaimed in anger. "Rosalinde Diana Varna, none of us are willing to continue to play your games of manipulation and torture so that you can continue to –"

"You're only a pawn," Varna sneered, then quickly slapping the prosecutor hard across the face. "And you have no idea just what you are –"

"Restrain her," Kiara said, sending a sharp look to one of her guards who quickly did so. "Now –"

"Get your hands off me!" Varna snapped, slapping at the guard who began to bind her wrists together for the time being. "I am the –"

"There is nothing about this that is favorable to you," Kiara told her, rubbing her cheek. "And you're completely –"

"I know you made a grab for power the other day," Varna said, then shaking her head. "The trouble is, you don't do it right."

Kiara glowered. "I am nothing like you –"

"I wouldn't be so sure," Varna said with a smirk, even as the guard forced her to sit down and kept a firm grasp on her shoulder. "And I do think that you're quite arrogant, even more so than myself."

Kiara crossed her arms. "I'm not a psychopathic killer such as yourself –"

"And yet you are power-hungry," Varna noted. "You've been letting that get to your head for the last decade. I forgot…was it not you that manipulated the head of the State department into sleeping with you for a couple of weeks after his son was born? Tell me, does his pregnant wife know?"

Kiara gritted her teeth. "She's known since that became public –"

"And you still want nothing short of power," Varna sighed. "Don't deny it."

Cinder scoffed. "Kiara Davis isn't power-hungry, she's a human being that likes her emotions more than anything else. You're power-hungry, Rose, but the difference between you and Kiara is good faith."

* * *

"I am going to go out on a limb here and say that this is one of the worst things that could have happened," Elizabeth said, pacing in her office where she, Ozpin, Cristal, Emmett, James, Winter, and Qrow were. "And I –"

"Eliza, calm down, please," Emmett said, looking to her worriedly. "It's bad enough as it is –"

"Yes, I'm very much aware of that," Elizabeth snapped. "You're not helping me in the slightest –"

"Eliza," James said, gently wrapping an arm around her. "We don't have to dwell on this –"

"Yes, we do!" She exclaimed, then sighing heavily. "James, if we're not looking over our shoulders then we're going to be damned –"

"I'd argue we already are," Qrow remarked dryly. "Karissa and Spencer almost died, and their family is continuously under attack –"

"We have been for years, according to Emmy," Emmett said, and Qrow shrugged. "And it's –"

"The Ciel family is a political dynasty," Qrow reminded him. "And that's what happens when a family gains a lot of power. They're going to be under attack, but they're going to be fine. Haven't they?"

Emmett scowled. "Do you have any idea what it feels like to be constantly under attack from people who are relentlessly –"

"Yeah, I do," Qrow snapped. "And I spent my entire childhood running from people that wanted to kill me and my family's tribe. Every damn day I would wake up not knowing if it were going to be my last, and, the fact is, I thought I was even more likely to die after I realized what my semblance is. I wonder if Spencer Ciel feels the same way, considering that he also has a semblance of bad luck."

Cristal scowled at him. "At least, unlike you, Spencer tries to live his life and take care of his family."

"Unlike me?" Qrow matched her glare. "Do you have any idea how much I worry about my wife and daughter –"

"Qrow, this isn't worth it," Winter said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know that you're –"

"Win –" He started.

"Qrow," She said, sending him a pointed look. "Please don't."

A tense silence held over the room until the door to Elizabeth's office opened and Caitlin and Cas stepped in.

"What a lovely party," Cas remarked, sharing a look with her wife as they simultaneously adjusted their glasses. "What did you say, Qrow?"

"Ha," Emmett said with a faint smirk. "Even she assumes that –"

"Shut up," He said, sending both Emmett and Cas a dark look. "And –"

"You're the one who's always being a pain in the ass," Caitlin said, rolling her eyes. "You might be one of the –"

"Did you dye your hair?" Qrow raised an eyebrow. "You look even more like pale milk with dark red hair."

Caitlin smirked. "I like it."

"She does look beautiful," Cristal noted, and Winter nodded. "As always."

Another silence fell over them, only broken by Caitlin beginning to pace.

"My entire life, I've never viewed safety or privacy as givens, as rights," She said quietly. "Only as privileges. But…now…it seems that more than a few lines have been crossed, that…that no one is safe anymore."

"It's going to be alright," Cas promised her, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek. "I promise, sweetheart, I promise. I love you."

"I love you too," She said softly. "I just…I don't know what's going to happen to us and, more than anything else, that terrifies me."

"It scares all of us," Cristal told her. "After all, I was…I never expected for things to end up this way. I always thought it wouldn't be as difficult to defeat her, that we wouldn't lose as many people as we have…"

"And that's why I am not going to let this fact go, Ozpin," Elizabeth said, sending him a sharp look. "How many more people are going to have to die for this? Are we even going to be able to defeat her? And, even if we are, to what end…what price are we going to have to pay for all of this?"

"I…" Ozpin glanced out the window towards the city where life was happening as always. "I don't know, not anymore…"


	111. Chapter 111

_**May 13th  
Schnee Dust Company  
Ballroom  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
7:37 PM**_

Caitlin Ciel sighed heavily as she tugged on the long sleeves of her dark dress which was form-fitting and swept the floor. Her dark red hair was swept up in a curly high bun, and her glasses only served to highlight her bright green eyes. Yet, everything in the room felt wrong. Even with Cas by her side and her arm wrapped tightly around her waist, she felt claustrophobic and vaguely sick. She acknowledged that part of that likely had to do with the self-loathing that had haunted her all day – even more so than during others – and she could not help but bite her lip as she saw her mother dancing with James Ironwood. She was glad they were happy; she was glad that they were in love, but she wanted her old life back no matter how irrational the notion. Even with having just received her doctorate of psychology, she felt dissatisfied. She was steadily in a position of power, she was happily married after so many heartbreaks, she was wealthy, she had her music and art aside from work, and she now had three degrees. But it was not enough.

"Hey," Cas said gently, giving her wife a squeeze as she looked to her in concern. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," She told her tiredly. "This is just all a little much."

"You know we have to do these events," Cas said softly, not wanting to be overheard. "And it is for a good –"

"I know," She said, then shaking her head. "I'm just overwhelmed, that's all."

"I'll try and make you feel better later," Cas said with a faint smirk. "If you're up to it."

Caitlin swiftly kissed her cheek. "I will be."

"Dr. Ciel," Cristal said with a smile and a glass of wine in her hand. "You look nice."

"Thanks," Caitlin said as she embraced her. "I take it people understand your love for wine?"

Cristal shrugged. "I'm the CEO of the company, I think that means I can do whatever I want."

Cas laughed. "If it involves money, you generally need my approval."

She winked. "That's why this works."

"Is Ozpin here?" Cas asked her. "My mom wasn't sure if he was going to be."

Cristal hesitated. "You know how things have been at Beacon."

"And you know how screwed we've all been," Caitlin said darkly. "Honestly, the fact that Spencer and Karissa are alive is a miracle."

"I know," Cristal glanced over her shoulder towards where Emmeline and Emmett were talking with the couple. "Luna still hasn't quite registered that something happened."

"In fairness, she's probably blocking it out," Caitlin awkwardly pulled a small bottle out of her purse and poured its contents into a wine glass. "Considering that even the mere thought of losing one's parents is traumatic due to the mother-child and father-child pair bond."

Cristal smirked. "This is why you got your doctorate."

"She's always acted smarter than the rest of us," Qrow said dryly as he, Winter, and Raquelle joined them. "I remember what happened with her first marriage –"

"Can we not talk about that?" Caitlin hissed. "I was barely twenty-years old, had known him for years, and was stupid. Cas and I got married two years after my divorce –"

"Which meant you married her three years ago, just about," Qrow said, flinching slightly upon Winter elbowing him sharply. "What? That's true –"

"Don't be a dick," Cas told him, protectively pulling her wife into her. "You know how sensitive that subject is for her –"

"If you think I haven't lost people I love –"

"Qrow –"

"Well, Ciel?" Qrow said, sending her a sharp look. "What is it that you have to say, what do you want to tell me?"

Cas scowled. "There are many things that I would like to say –"

"Yeah!" Raquelle exclaimed, partially in surprise at there being any semblance of excitement in her life. "What?" She said off of a sharp look from her mother. "I never get to see anything happen, maybe –"

"Raquelle," Winter said in slight exasperation. "Why don't you spend time with Ariel and Briella? Or Courtney, or Ryan, or Natalie, Matt, Percival, and Luna?"

Raquelle considered that for a moment, and then happily ran over towards Luna to play with the young girl.

"So," Cristal said once she was gone. "You were being a dick?"

Qrow rolled his eyes. "Ironic, coming from a woman with a full glass of wine in her hand and a million-lien diamond ring on the other."

"You know, sometimes I've had it with you," She said. "And then I remember that you're useful."

"And that he's my husband," Winter added, to which her aunt shrugged. "Aunt Cristal –"

"I've made my feelings on him clear before," She said simply. "As I also did with Jacques, and –"

"What's Kiara Davis doing here?" Caitlin said, looking towards the doors. "Oh for heaven's sake –"

"Honey," Cas said, turning towards her wife and taking her hands in hers. "I know that Melissa Davis did a number on you and destroyed your relationship not only with one of your closest friends but with your marriage –"

"Melissa Davis…" Caitlin gritted her teeth, a sickening feeling rising within her. "That –"

"Caitlin?" Brianna Ciel hesitantly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Oh god," Ronnie swore under his breath for a moment. "Brie, maybe we should go –"

"Ronnie," She said, sending him a pointed glance. "We can be civil adults, and the chances are that Kiara is not going to want anything to do with us."

"Who won't want anything to do with us?" Karissa asked as she, Spencer, Emmett, and Emmeline joined them. "Ronnie?"

"Nothing," He said, then looking to his brother and sister-in-law. "Are you two doing alright?"

Karissa and Spencer shared a glance before he pulled her in tightly and she let herself, despite being in public, rest her head on his shoulder.

"As well as we can be," She eventually said. "You know how bad everything has gotten."

"…Eliza, I didn't mean it like that –" Blake started from the other end of the room.

"…Oh, you didn't?" Elizabeth crossed her arms. "…Really, of all the people in this world who could –"

"…Elizabeth!" A blonde man exclaimed as he approached her. "…It's been too long –"

Allison Adel slapped him hard across the face. "…After everything, Devon, do you really have to mess with the family?"

He shifted uncomfortably in his suit. "…Madame Adel, I –"

"…If you want more money, I'm sure you'll find that she paid everything out in the divorce settlement," Elizabeth said, acid dripping in her words. "…Sometimes I can't help but wonder if that was all you wanted –"

"…It was complicated –"

"…You had an affair with another woman in your own home when you were married to my daughter," Elizabeth reminded him. "…Must I tell you how absolutely _despicable_ –"

"Well," Caitlin said, taking a long sip of her blue-hued alcohol. "I've had enough."

Cas looked to her worriedly. "What the hell are you even drinking?"

"Romulan ale," Caitlin said, taking back another. "I'm feeling claustrophobic enough as it is."

Karissa raised an eyebrow. "And you're drowning that in alcohol?"

"At least you know what it is," She replied. "One of my colleagues thought it was mouthwash."

Spencer grimaced. "Why would anyone drink mouthwash?"

"Maybe that someone lost a dare to another someone right here," Emmett said with a smirk as he adjusted his glasses. "And –"

"Oh, I hadn't thought you were actually going to do it!" Cristal protested. "We were twenty years old, I thought you were smarter than to go and drink a whole bottle of mouthwash and then puke up blue liquid fifteen hours later."

Emmeline sighed. "That was its own hell."

"Sorry," Emmett said, pressing an affectionate kiss to her cheek. "I didn't exactly…well…"

"Your mom is yelling pretty loud," Blake pressed her cat ears into her head upon her and Team RWBY reaching them. "And –"

"So many people…" Caitlin muttered.

"And it hurts," Weiss finished. "How long can she go on for, and why is she losing it on that one guy? He looks innocent enough."

Caitlin scowled. "You all don't know the story."

"I only overheard it when the Ciel kids were talking about it," Qrow said with a shrug. "And I mean _Edward_ Ciel's kids –"

"We know what you meant," Ronnie told him. "And it wasn't just us –"

"Well, Karissa, Emmett, and Brianna are typically there if all of you are together," Qrow replied. "I assumed it was a given."

Karissa snorted. "You're improbable."

"I'm charming," Qrow countered. "Your husband is improbable, but that's a different story."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the group, although the activities around them went on as if nothing had changed.

"Sometimes," Emmeline said slowly. "I really hate you."

"And I sometimes really hate you," Qrow said, getting a dark look from the General. "What? That's true."

"I'm…" Caitlin began to walk towards the exit of the room, the feeling of being overwhelmed only growing. "Oh god…"

"What the –" An all-too familiar female voice said upon the woman half-slamming into her. "You can't let anything go, can you? You're such a bitch, and yet I 'forgive' you."

Caitlin picked up on the sarcasm in the other woman's tone, despite her general lack of ability to, and crossed her arms as she turned towards her. "I see you're doing well, Melissa, but I was just leaving. I happen to have actual work that promises results which, I'm sure, yours does not. Is your sister still in prison for murder?"

A vein twitched in Melissa's forehead. "You see your brother all the time, you see your parents all the time, how is it that you can get off to making me miserable –"

"That's disgusting," Caitlin said venomously. "Especially considering that your entire statement is a reflection upon yourself, considering that you quite literally got off doing something that made me genuinely miserable for a long time."

Melissa rolled her eyes, not even noticing as Caitlin used her magic to subtly beg Cas to let her handle this herself. "Still bitter, after all this time? Really?"

Caitlin pursed her lips. "You know I don't let things go."

"Madame Ciel," Devon said nervously, wrapping an arm around Melissa. "I trust you've been well?"

"I've been better," She replied shortly, sending her mother a sharp but knowing glance. "And it is _Dr_. now."

"How sophisticated," Melissa said, half-tauntingly. "It seems you've found yet another reason to pretend to be superior. You know, I've always disliked that about you. You take whatever you want, you act like you're running out of time, and you're so full of yourself. Narcissistic personality disorder? You've always –"

"Stop it," Caitlin said, a warning note entering her voice.

"I've always felt out of place, you know," Melissa sighed dramatically as she all but collapsed into Devon who caught her although he was beginning to feel uncomfortable. "Like an imposter in this world, despite the fact that I didn't come from a dynasty, despite the fact that I've had the worst possible life until now. There should be something to explain that…something to explain how I can still feel like a fraud against someone like you who is a genius that's never had to work a day in her life."

Caitlin was silent for a long moment, her heart pounding as the chatter and clamoring around her only seemed to grow louder upon Ozpin stepping into the room.

"You know what?" She finally snapped, her high voice only getting louder as she went on without her realizing it. "There's a way to describe that, but it's not going to make any sense to you! You have absolutely no idea what I've been through, what trials I constantly face, what life does in ripping apart so much that I care about! How is it that you can constantly project yourself onto me? I know I've got issues, thank you very much, but I'm not afraid of admitting that! At least I try, at least I do what I have to, at least –"

"You're an insatiable bitch –" Melissa roared.

"I've heard worse!" Caitlin snapped back, pointing at her and finally having given up. "You're not going to be able to call me worse, and I'm none of what you're saying! You are! You're a liar, you're an imposter, and you're a fraud!"

The room fell into silence, and then Caitlin shook her head and ran out of the room – quickly followed after by her wife and her mother.

"She deserved that," Emmett said under his breath, eliciting a short laugh from Emmeline. "You agree with me, right?"

She sighed. "Of course I do, Emmett."

"That's probably what I sound like when I'm that angry," Karissa remarked. "At least –"

"'Rissa, there's nothing wrong with you –" Spencer started, rubbing her back.

"It's what you sound like when you're arrogant," Ronnie interjected, and Karissa glared. "You brought it up. Besides, when you do it…it's sans yelling."

"Oz!" Cristal tightly embraced her husband, who pressed a soft, loving kiss to her lips. "I didn't realize you were going to be here!"

"I wanted to be with you," He said, holding her close. "I know things have been rough as of late, and I want to try and help make things easier for you."

She smiled. "I'm glad…"

"Me too," He replied. "Although I didn't expect to see…a spectacle like that when I got here."

"It was well-deserved," Emmett told him. "Apparently, that's the woman her ex-husband cheated on her with."

"Lovely," Brianna said dryly. "We might as well have a little jig."

"Dr. Ciel," Kiara said cordially, although she startled the woman. "My apologies, I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that."

"No, I suspect you shouldn't have," Brianna replied. "Is something the matter, Madame Davis?"

"I simply wanted to ask how you've been," She said, hesitating for a moment upon seeing Ronnie tightly squeeze his wife's hand. "And, of course, how your baby is."

"Well," Brianna said coldly. "I've been pushed to the limit, but my baby is perfectly healthy and will be born in early July. A girl, if you were so curious."

"And she's going to be fine," Ronnie promised her. "She will be. Arianna Brianna Ciel."

Spencer tensed, staring at his brother for a long moment.

"Arianna?" He finally managed to repeat. "You're –"

"Oh, Spencer," Brianna said quickly, cursing herself for being insensitive. "That hasn't been decided, and it's not like that –"

"Arianna was a very close friend of mine –" Ronnie started.

"And she was also your brother's deceased first wife," Brianna hissed. "Were you really going to hijack her first name –"

"Brie –" Ronnie started.

"Spence?" Karissa said, looking to him worriedly. "You look pale."

"Can we…" He sighed heavily. "Can we talk alone?"

She nodded as he helped her walk. "I wish I would recover faster…" She muttered.

"'Rissa," Spencer said quietly. "I know it's not fair to you that I –"

"Stop," She said gently. "Spence, I know you love me –"

"I love you so damn much…" He whispered, pulling her in tightly although he released her upon feeling her flinch. "I forgot about your –"

"It's not your fault," She said as she sat down on the small couch beside him. "I forget about it too until I slam into something and it starts hurting like a bitch again instead of the constant, dull pain that its been giving me since…"

"I can't believe she did that to you," Spencer said, his fingers lightly brushing over her face as he tucked one of her azure curls behind her ear. "And I shouldn't have reacted the way I did, I was –"

"Spencer," She said, placing her hands over his. "It's alright."

There was a brief silence between them.

"It doesn't bother me that Ronnie wants to name his daughter after her because the two of them were very close," He finally said. "It…it bothers me how much I'm scared that something will happen to turn our relationship into what mine and Anna's ended up being. We fought all the time, more than the kids remember. Natalie idolizes her mother…and there are so many reasons why that bothers me. You know how rough things were regarding Percy, and his treatment…"

"I know, you and I talked about it at the time," Karissa sighed. "I felt horrible when I found out that he was at risk of dying, especially because I remember how difficult everything was…"

 _Spencer buried his face in his hands as he collapsed into the couch in Karissa's apartment. "Anna's so upset about all of this…with what happened to me, with that…that shock that the overdose last month put me in, with Percival, but she doesn't…with him, she's scared of what might happen if we do treat him and she's scared of what might happen if we don't."_

 _Karissa handed him a glass of water. "What was he even diagnosed with? He's only a year old, Spencer, is it really that life threatening?"_

 _He was silent for a long moment as he sipped, struggling to reconcile his thoughts._

" _We haven't even told my father yet," Spencer said quietly. "And –"_

" _Sorry I'm late," Arianna Ciel said, stepping into the apartment in a lavish dress, coat, boots, purse, and hat. "Traffic was a bitch."_

" _Is he okay?" Spencer asked her, and she nodded shortly. "Thank god…"_

" _For now, anyways," Arianna said, sitting down beside him. "Have you talked to Edward about this yet?"_

 _Spencer sighed. "No, I haven't."_

" _What do you mean you haven't?" Arianna exclaimed, staring at him in shock. "You said you were going to! He already knows that you're addicted to those damn pills that the doctor prescribed you, how is this going to be any worse to him?"_

" _Percy's my son!" Spencer countered. "He –"_

" _He's my son too –" Arianna snapped, and Karissa could not help but groan as she reached for a wine glass._

" _Anna –" He started._

" _We need your father's money to pay for the treatment they want to give him!" Arianna reminded him. "Our baby boy has fucking cancer –"_

" _We're treating him –"_

" _You act like we can afford this!" Arianna gestured to herself. "Do you think anything we have comes cheap?"_

" _Might I offer a suggestion?" Karissa asked, and Arianna gave her a short nod. "Maybe spend less on expensive, designer clothes and dedicate that money towards your son's treatment?"_

 _Arianna sighed. "Karissa, we don't have to give anything up, and if Edward would give us the money then we could deal with this faster –"_

" _I can't go and beg my father for money!" Spencer told her. "I can't! That's not –"_

" _What about Emmeline?" Arianna asked him. "She has a mounting fortune from the money Emmett Schnee left her in the will –"_

" _You know that will upset her –" Spencer protested._

" _Oh, that will upset her?" Arianna scowled. "Our son could die because you're too damn selfish to get your own family's help!"_

 _Karissa absentmindedly glanced at the label on the bottle of wine she had pulled out and then marked it for Elizabeth._

" _Karissa!" Arianna snapped her fingers. "What do you think?"_

 _She set down the bottle in surprise. "What?"_

 _Arianna motioned her over to them. "Do you agree with me that we need Edward's money, or do you agree with Spencer that this is my fault?"_

" _I didn't say this is your fault –" Spencer started._

" _I think this is my apartment, I've got a lot of work to do on a project for a possible promotion of my position in the DFAMA, and that I'm extremely uncomfortable," Karissa said, rubbing her neck. "This isn't in my place; this is something the two of you need to figure out together."_

"'Rissa?" Spencer said, squeezing her hand. "Are you okay?"

She sighed. "I'm just thinking, that's all."

He gently pulled her in close to him and hesitantly began to stroke her hair. "Karissa Adeline Mar, honestly, as much as I'll never truly admit it to Natalie, or Matthew, or Percival, you are where everything in my life is centered, and you are the sole woman I truly love. Arianna and I set each other off more often than we didn't and, honestly, it wasn't until after I…after I got a second chance despite everything, despite the pain, despite the loss, despite addiction…it wasn't until after I had fallen in love with and married you that I…that I realized what it actually means to need someone more than anyone else. I love you so much, and that's never going to change."

"Spencer…" She whispered. "Don't make me cry."

He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too," She murmured. "I really do."

At the other end of the ballroom, a high tension was only growing. Although Ronnie and Brianna had stopped taking shots at each other, calmed down, and agreed to discuss the matter more later, the fact remained that there was an air of discomfort between all of them. Allison and Blake had uncomfortably slipped out after one of her father's old business partners had corned them. Emmeline and Emmett kept trying, to little avail, to stop another explosive argument from beginning. Ruby and Weiss were discussing something of amusement with Winter, Qrow, Ariel, Briella, and Raquelle. Natalie and Courtney kept attempting to distract Luna with, quite literally, any shiny objects they had, and Matt and Percival kept trying to tie their ties together. Cristal and Ozpin were speaking amiably with associates of Beacon, the SDC, and the Atlesian Council alongside James, and Caitlin, Cas, and Elizabeth were in a small café downtown where Caitlin had accidentally burnt the table with her new-found powers as a sorceress.

"Brianna," Kiara said. "Would you mind if I spoke to Ronnie in private for a moment?"

She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "I suspect I would."

"Nothing improper," Kiara said quickly, causing the other woman's eyes to narrow. "Please, Dr. Ciel?"

Brianna flicked her wrist and stalked off although she and Ronnie shared an exasperated look.

"Please stop going out of your way to upset her," He said, sending Kiara a pointed glance. "I mean that. Brie's sensitive enough about what happened between us –"

"There's nothing wrong with what happened between us," Kiara told him. "We both wanted each other –"

"Sort of," Ronnie said under his breath. "Sort of."

"Ronnie," Kiara said, brushing a hand over his shoulder. "You know I love you."

"And I love my wife," He snapped. "I've hurt her enough, and I don't want anyone else to either. Is there anything work related you have to say?"

Kiara nodded curtly. "A few people we know are tied to Varna and orchestrated her daughter's attack on Karissa."

Ronnie stared at her in abject horror, briefly glancing over towards his brother and sister-in-law. "What?"

"We're still trying to find out the details," She said slowly. "But it seems that even our Council's information might not be completely safe anymore."


	112. Chapter 112

_**May 17th  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **8:24 PM**_

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Karissa pressed the palm of her hand against her forehead, feeling both exhausted and irritated. "Of all the people to possibly be –"

"She has always used her position for her own gain," Ronnie reminded her. "At least, subtly enough for it not to be a crime. She's barely even noteworthy half the time because she's just the head of homeland security and she does her job and then doesn't speak."

Karissa scowled. "That's not helpful."

"Well, it's true," Ronnie replied. "After all –"

"Their trial is supposed to begin next week!" Karissa sighed. "This is an absolute disaster…"

"I agree," Elizabeth said, her heels clicking as she paced. "However, we still don't have enough evidence to force Irabella to –"

"I know that," Karissa snapped. "Most of the evidence we have is hearsay from Kiara."

"I wouldn't call my evidence hearsay," Kiara said as she stepped into the room, earning a glare from Karissa. "I feel I should ask: are you doing well?"

"That's subjective," Karissa said tersely. "Although I doubt it's relevant."

"You were shot –" Kiara reminded her.

"Yes, I am very much aware of that," Karissa replied. "And I would appreciate it if you could provide us with anything which serves to corroborate what you're saying about Irabella Carrington."

Kiara pursed her lips. "I believe I sent that forward."

"There is enough to convince the security council of what Carrington's been doing," Karissa told her. "But I am hesitant to believe that this is something which could be proven in court."

"We don't have to bring her to trial," Kiara said, and all three of them stared at her. "Don't look at me like that, I'm completely serious."

"That's my concern," Elizabeth said, a tinge of condescension in her tone. "Arresting Carrington without a warrant would be a violation of her rights –"

"Of course," Kiara said, a faint smirk rising on her lips. "But we could demonstrate the evidence to her."

"To what end does that serve?" Ronnie asked her. "It sounds like more trouble than it would be worth."

"If she was brought to trial, she and her attorneys would have the right to review the evidence to be brought against them," Kiara countered. "And if we show her the evidence and inform her that the DCCCP will press charges if she does not resign, then she will have the choice to either step down quietly or be brought publicly to the stand – something which likely would implode her entire life and career."

Karissa considered that. "In some senses, that could be effective."

"Or she would lean on her sister," Ronnie said darkly. "And, while she hasn't ever done much to help Mark, Adeline would never let anything happen to Irabella if she were pressed."

"On the contrary, Adeline cares more about preserving herself and her career than she does her own family," Elizabeth countered. "And she wouldn't help Irabella if it would tarnish her reputation in any way."

"My point exactly," Kiara said. "It's –"

"Do it quietly," Karissa said, sending her a sharp look. "I don't want this to become a major issue. It's bad enough that Mark and Varna are aware of classified information; we don't need to make this worse."

Kiara nodded shortly and then stepped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"If Mark and Varna escape, the blame falls on Irabella," Elizabeth said bitterly. "And I will have no shame in forcing that out of her in public session."

Ronnie stared at her for a moment.

"Sometimes…" He eventually said. "You're more ruthless than we think."

"I'm not being ruthless," She replied. "I'm being practical."

"Either way, this isn't something that we can handle rashly," Karissa pulled off her reading glasses and set them aside on her desk. "Varna is dangerous enough as it is; the fact that she has information that could help her escape or, at the very least, is relating to national security is alarming. No matter what happens, even if this does go away quietly, there are going to be questions about Kiara's solution."

"I'm not sure I trust Kiara to not make this public herself," Elizabeth remarked dryly. "If you know what I mean."

"She doesn't need publicity," Karissa said. "If she decides to do so, it will probably be a humiliation tactic to force Irabella to resign."

"And it will also mean that the DCCCP will have no choice but to press charges," Elizabeth countered. "This is an issue of national security, and what Carrington did is a felony."

"It's also, likely, an issue beyond her in the DHS," Ronnie added. "Has Director Adel been informed of this?"

Elizabeth nodded. "He said that he intends to begin a full investigation into the corruption. The senate and commons investigative committees have also been notified of the situation, and the senate has formally declared that it will investigate the matter itself."

Karissa sighed. "I suppose that's reasonable."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ronnie asked her in concern. "It's alright if you're not, you know."

"Amongst other things, I'm just tired," She said, standing up and leaning against her desk for a moment. "And I don't like this in part because I feel like I'm losing control over the things I'm supposed to control."

"I do too," Elizabeth admitted. "And it's uncanny."

"It'll be fine," Ronnie told them. "We still have more control than most, after all."

"True," Elizabeth hesitated for a moment. "But that doesn't mean that this isn't slipping out of our control."

"Which is the most dangerous part about it," Karissa noted, glancing out the window. "All things considered."

A weighted silence held amongst them for over a minute.

"Have you and Spencer been okay?" Elizabeth finally asked. "With what happened and all."

"That's complicated," She said, swearing under her breath as she tried to adjust her still-healing shoulder. "I've been…I've gotten better, and I am healing, but it's going to take awhile and on so many levels that irritates me. Spence is concerned that I'm going to overdo things while I'm supposed to be recovering, but he's also worried about Luna. I probably shouldn't have told him that she found the –"

"I know," Elizabeth said gently. "And I know that you've been sick, and I know that Luna finding that was –"

"It was horrible," Karissa told her. "Eliza, she's my baby girl, I don't want her to have to cope with things like this quite yet. She's still so young, and I…"

"She's going to be fine," Ronnie assured her. "You and Spencer have done everything you can to keep her safe, and she's going to be fine. You do believe that, don't you?"

Karissa sighed. "Less and less every day."

"Me too…" Elizabeth muttered.

"Everything's just complicated," Karissa said tiredly. "Can we leave it at that?"

"Might be the best option we've got, at the moment," Elizabeth said. "Most of it we can only hope for the best."

"That's what Brie keeps telling me," Ronnie said quietly. "And I just wish I was able to believe her."

"You're scared," Elizabeth said pointedly. "Not that any of us aren't."

"How can we not be scared?" He replied. "It's not as if anyone is truly safe anymore."

"That's the problem," Karissa shook her head. "How did any of this go this far?"

"I'd love to know the answer to that," Elizabeth remarked dryly. "But I don't think any of us could explain."

"Of course not," Ronnie said. "It's almost too much."

"We're beyond too much," Karissa told him. "At the end of the day, we're going to have to keep fighting this…no matter what the cost may be."

* * *

"…Well, of course she made a scene," Melissa Davis scoffed. "…Honestly, Alice, I just don't know what she has against me."

"…That's what I wonder about the Ciel family," Alice replied. "…In general, though."

"Cas…" Caitlin said quietly as they glanced around the corner and into the alleyway in which Alice and Melissa were speaking. "Can we leave? I don't like this, it seems dangerous."

"In a minute," Cas said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I'm trying to figure out their connection to each other."

"I think the obvious is a bad one," Caitlin said, sending her a pointed look as she adjusted her glasses. "And I'd rather not have another snapping –"

"Sorry," Cas said, sighing heavily. "I just –"

"I know, I'm curious too," Caitlin glanced over her shoulder for a brief moment. "But I'm also tired and have no desire to deal with something bad right now –"

"Okay," Cas gently wrapped an arm around her waist. "Let's get out of here."

"Oh, look!" Melissa exclaimed from behind them, causing Caitlin to tense. "Dr. and Madame Ciel are here, Alice!"

Caitlin turned around, crossing her arms. "Hello, Melissa."

"You feel the need to be pleasant, but I don't," Cas said under her breath to her wife as she flipped Melissa off. "Nice to see you, slut."

"Cas –" Caitlin started.

"She is," Cas said, and Caitlin considered that. "You know that –"

"Just because I know something doesn't mean I'm going to –"

"Finally learning to hold your tongue?" Melissa taunted. "I never thought you would."

"I haven't," Caitlin replied. "And if you irritate me much more, I'll remove yours."

Melissa laughed. "Alice, wouldn't you like to see her try?"

She shrugged. "Depends."

"Neither of you have any ground upon which to stand," Caitlin said haughtily. "Now, if you'll excuse us –"

Alice used her magic to restrain Cas. "Not until after I make a few things clear to you."

Caitlin attempted to unbind her wife, but Cas sent her a sharp look to stop for the moment.

"Fine," She said, scowling at them. "What do you want?"

"To deliver a message," Alice informed her. "Melissa?"

"You can say whatever you like –" She began.

"Yes, I know that full well," Caitlin said dryly. "Are you two really going to waste time telling me things I already know?"

Alice used her magic to summon ropes around Cas' neck.

"If you don't shut up," Alice said with narrowed eyes and a sadistic smirk. "I'll kill her."

Caitlin tensed. "Say what you have to."

"If you try and cross my family," Alice said, tossing her hair back. "You'll find that you're going to have very little left. I have no problem killing…it's a damn shame it didn't work when I tried with Natalie and Karissa."

Caitlin considered that. "Well, we do have the most to gain and therefore the most to lose."

Melissa scoffed. "You don't know how to play it safe."

"Your mother is the only member of your family that's even halfway sane and knows how to play it safe," Caitlin bit off. "Both you and your sister are bat shit insane."

Melissa stared at her in outrage and then turned to Alice. "Do something about that!"

Alice tightened the ropes against Cas' neck. "Strike one, Dr. Ciel. Remember, this isn't just betwee us. You've been defiant of Salem so many times..."

"Let her go," Caitlin said, struggling to activate her own magic. "Now."

Melissa rolled her eyes. "Strike two."

"In your dreams," Alice smirked as she continued to choke Cas. "And you were saying?"

"None of what we are means that we go down easy," She said, shoving her left hand in her back pocket as she activated her magic. "And we've never lost a war unless we didn't fight it."

Melissa snorted. "Yet you –"

"You were wrong all along about me," Caitlin told her with a smirk. "I shoot to kill, and I play to win, and I will."

"Strike three!" Alice declared, choking Cas so hard that she fell unconscious before Alice and Melissa disappeared through the younger woman's magic. "You lose."

"Cas!" Caitlin used her magic to stop her wife from slamming into the ground as she ran to her side. "That motherfucking –"

Pressing her hands gently against Cas' neck and then slowly trailing them down her chest, she let herself breathe a sigh of relief upon feeling her begin to regain a normal pulse and breath.

"Cas…" She said softly as she brushed her fingers over her wife's forehead. "Don't make me fight for you…"

Cas' eyes fluttered open and she stared at her wife for a moment.

"I know where Salem is..." She said softly. "It just hit me..."

* * *

"Luna…" Natalie groaned. "Go away."

Her sister scowled. "That's mean."

"I never said that I'm nice," Natalie replied. "Go."

"Whatcha doing?" Matt smirked as he stepped into the room. "Luna, did you get the scary monster off her permanent spot laying on the couch?"

"No," Luna said, pointing to Natalie. "She's not playing."

"Yeah, what a surprise," She muttered. "And you're a dick, Matt."

He shrugged. "That depends on your point of view."

"Don't pull that," She told him. "It's stupid."

"You're stupid," He replied. "And it's hard for anyone to win an argument against stupid."

"You know who I can win an argument against?" Natalie asked. "It's dickheads in hideous plaid shirts and oversized jackets. You look twenty pounds heavier, is that really sexy to you?"

"It's called grunge," Matt said, crossing his arms. "Don't bash it until you try it."

"I'll try it when I'm old and grey," Natalie said. "Or thirty. Whichever comes first."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "That's pretty grim."

"I don't like grimm…" Luna said quietly, clutching her bunny tighter against her chest. "They're scary."

"Not those grimm," Matt told her, leaning over to ruffle his sister's hair. "I meant that Nattie's being creepy and crawly."

Natalie reached behind her for her soda and plucked out the straw.

"Like a spider?" Luna said, shrinking back a bit in fear. "I hate spiders. They're scary and mean."

"Nah," Matt said. "Nattie's being creepy and crawly like a snake."

Natalie wadded up a small piece of paper, licked it, and shoved it into the straw, then shooting it at her brother and hitting him square in the cheek.

"Snakes don't crawl, dumbass," She said with a triumphant grin. "They slither."

Matt glared. "That's not –"

"She's right about that one," Percival said, stepping into the room and tugging on the long sleeves of his first shirt. "Snakes don't have any appendages that would allow for crawling."

"You dress stupid too," Natalie said, and Percival stuck out his tongue. "I'm sorry, you wear a black or a white long-sleeved shirt under a graphic t-shirt everywhere. And your jeans are almost girlishly tight."

"You're just being mean," Percival said, and Matt nodded. "And why is there a spit-wad stuck to your face?"

Matt brushed the wad off his cheek. "Nattie shot me."

"Oh please," She scoffed. "If I had actually shot you, it would have been a lot worse."

Percival sighed as he sat down. "Well, please don't."

"I won't," She said. "On purpose."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"It means that I'll –" Natalie paused upon hearing the front door unlock. "Dad."

"Daddy!" Luna shrieked happily, running over to the door and almost knocking Spencer over as she embraced him. "You're home! Is mommy –"

"No, mommy's working late," Spencer told her, setting down his work bag and then lifting up his six-year-old daughter. "But she should be home early tomorrow."

Luna pouted. "I wanted to see her…"

"I know," Spencer said, ruffling her curls. "You okay, though?"

Luna shrugged. "Nattie's lame."

Spencer glanced to his eldest who was still laying on the couch. "Have you moved at all today?"

"Yeah," Natalie said dryly. "I got up to eat something and have a drink, and then I slept, and then I repeated that, and then I shot Matt."

"With a spitball," Matt said quickly. "But it really hurt."

"If it had been a silver bullet and you had burst into flames, then we would have had to burn you at the stake," Percival jokingly informed him. "What a scene that would be."

Matt shuddered. "I hate fire."

"You hate a lot of things," Spencer reminded him as he closed the door. "And it's usually because you're afraid of them."

"Perce is afraid of more things than me!" Matt protested. "He's scared of everything!"

"I am not!" Percival exclaimed. "But, for example, unlike you, I don't want to get a social disease!"

"I'm not going to get gonorrhea!" Matt sent him a dark look. "And thanks a lot for making me read through that book that showed me all the gross things that diseases can do to my dick."

"At least you don't have to get it cut off," Percival replied. "And then sent to a relative in a box."

"And this is why I'm not going to read those books," Spencer said, and Percival laughed. "No, honestly, I don't need to read over a thousand pages for each book of medieval torture."

"I made a guillotine at one point," Natalie remarked, and Spencer looked at her in slight horror. "Relax, dad, it was small. Although it did have a real blade, and some dumbass almost cut off his finger with it."

"That was me," Matt scowled. "Again."

"Alright, then…" Spencer said, setting Luna down. "Lunes, can you shower and get ready for bed?"

Luna nodded and all but ran down the hall.

"Setting aside…whatever the hell you've been talking about," Spencer said, running a hand through his shaggy hair. "There are a few things we need to discuss."

"Ugh…" Natalie groaned. "If this is another speech about how Karissa is stressed and you want us all to try and make things a little easier for her –"

"Mom's got enough to deal with as it is," Matt told her. "Can't you just be a little more supportive like the rest of us?"

"Not in the mood, Matt," Natalie said darkly. "Really not in the mood."

"Is this about my bloodwork?" Percival asked, worry rising in his voice. "Did you and mom get the lab results back?"

"Yes, and you're still clear," Spencer said, and his son breathed a visible sigh of relief. "You should stay that way, considering how long you have been."

Percival bit his lip. "What if I relapse?"

"We'll handle it," Spencer told him. "I promise."

"So," Natalie said, forcing herself to sit up. "What exactly do we have to discuss that we can't with Luna?"

"Something that I haven't told your mother yet," Spencer said quietly. "I only heard it yesterday, but I don't want to upset her."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Dr. Corbel was looking over the results of her scans and testing following her accident but before she came to," Spencer said. "And she…Dr. Corbel said that the evidence suggested that she suffered a miscarriage amongst her injuries."

"Karissa was pregnant?" Natalie exclaimed, staring at him in shock. "Why didn't you tell us –"

"We didn't know –" Spencer began.

"That's possible?" Matt asked him. "Mom's forty-five –"

"Aunt Emmeline had her two youngest around forty-five –" Natalie reminded him.

"Don't tell her," Percival said, looking to them sharply but then glancing to her father. "Won't it upset her?"

"I'm not going to lie to her, she's my wife, and –" Spencer started, a note of upset clear in his voice.

"I doubt she would have wanted another kid," Natalie said. "After all –"

"What the hell is your problem, Natalie –" Matt hissed.

"What are you all talking about?" Karissa asked as she pushed open the door and Spencer turned to her, emotional turmoil and pain clear on his face. "Spence, are you –"

He took her hand for a moment but then embraced her tightly, startling her for a moment.

"I'm so sorry, 'Rissa…" He whispered. "For everything."

She looked at him worriedly. "Spence, what are you talking about?"

"Mommy!" Luna exclaimed, pulling her blanket tightly around herself. "You're home!"

"Your hair's still wet," Karissa noted in slight amusement as she lifted up her daughter. "I'm not going to be able to carry you soon, am I?"

Luna pouted. "I like being carried."

"It'll be hard to do if you get to be the same height as me," Karissa smiled as Luna ruffled her azure curls. "But it's fine for now."

Luna grinned. "You and daddy can tuck me in!"

"Give us a minute, Luna," Karissa told her, turning back to Spencer in concern. "What's going on?"

"'Rissa, I…" Spencer bit his lip. "Can we –"

"Apparently dad knocked you up again," Natalie said, getting glares from both of her brothers and a look of shock from Karissa and Spencer. "But, apparently, almost being killed caused you to lose it."

Karissa paled a bit in spite of herself. "What?"

"I'm tired," Natalie said, feigning a heavy yawn. "I'm going to sleep –"

"What is wrong with you?" Matt exclaimed, motioning for Percival to follow him as he went after Natalie. "I can't believe you're so insensitive –"

"Mom?" Percival said hesitantly. "Is it alright if I take Luna?"

She set her daughter down and nodded. "Just give us a few minutes."

Percival nodded. "Luna, think you can beat me to your room?"

She stuck out her tongue. "You wish!"

Silence held between them for a long moment until they heard the door slam behind the hall.

"Is she joking?" Karissa asked him. "Spence, please –"

"She's not," Spencer said, pulling her into him gently so as not to hurt her side. "Dr. Corbel sent me an email earlier today saying that she had looked over your testing and scans from before you regained consciousness, and she informed me that you had…that you'd suffered a miscarriage."

Karissa bit her lip. "I…"

"'Rissa, I –" He started.

"I can't believe this…" She said softly, her voice breaking. "I wouldn't have even known…"

"'Rissa, is there…" He brushed tears away from his eyes. "Is there anything I can do?"

"I…" She leaned into him, trying not to cry. "I don't know…I just need you right now."

He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "I promise I'll be here for you."

She nodded weakly. "I love you so much…"

He held her close. "I love you too."


	113. Chapter 113

_**May 21st  
City Of Atlas  
Atlas  
Downtown  
5:18 PM**_

"I know where Salem is," Yang said with a faint smirk. "Apparently Cas had a vision about it."

The CFO scowled. "That's not funny."

"Hey, my mom confirmed it," Yang protested. "She got it from a few of the people in her tribe."

"Because that's a particularly trustworthy group," Cas rolled her eyes. "I thought her tribe disbanded."

"You know how many people are still loyal to my mother?" Yang countered. "She's got that kind of presence."

"I know," Cas replied. "She drags your father around like it's no problem. Sex apparently works really well in controlling people."

Yang shuddered. "Don't make me think about my parents having sex."

"You know that's what –"

"I love everything about you, Emmy, even your grey hairs!" Yang exclaimed, dramatically leaning against Blake. "That's never going to change!"

Her partner pressed her cat ears into her head and sent her a disgusted look.

"No," Blake said. "I don't care that you're trying to make some stupid point to Cas. That's gross."

"Thank you!" Cas said, glancing to her wife. "You okay?"

"I'd love to track down Alice Varna and show her what for," Caitlin said, briefly activating her magic. "She almost killed you."

Cas sighed. "That can wait."

"Can it?" She countered. "It's not as if she's a particularly stable person."

"I'd argue that you ain't either," Qrow said, and she took in a sharp breath. "Sorry, Dr. C. Ciel, but stability is not the argument you wanna take against her. More like morals."

She crossed her arms. "I am stable –"

"No you're not," He said. "And the cuts on your wrist prove me right."

"You're an asshole," Caitlin snapped. "You're no –"

"Let's not go saying things we can't take back," Ruby said quickly, and Cas nodded faintly. "Can we focus on the fact that we finally know what to do about Salem?"

"We've known what to do about her," Caitlin remarked cynically. "We just haven't known where."

"And where would you suggest we do this?" Weiss questioned, predominantly rhetorically. "Other than where she actually hides?"

"Well," Caitlin said. "I'd sock her behind the alleyway, but I don't know how much that would do to a being that can't be killed."

Yang smirked. "You'd punch her?"

"It's easier, for me, to go through problems than around them," Caitlin shrugged. "When things are more direct or straightforward it's easier for me."

"I believe that," Winter muttered. "Sounds about right."

"You did attack your ex-husband's new toy," Qrow said, pausing for a moment off of the look they all gave him. "What? It was justified, but it's also a good example of her going through problems and not around them."

"Sometimes," Caitlin said, forcing herself to be perfectly composed. "You reach a point where you finally break and you have to let something like that come into the light."

"And you and Brianna now have a shared hatred of the Davis family," Blake noted. "At least based on appearance."

Caitlin sighed. "It's not hatred; if it were, Brie and I would be unable to be civil adults with them."

"You call snapping in front of a ballroom of wealthy, influential people civil?" Blake said doubtfully. "I don't think your aunt-in-law is much better. She might be quieter about it, but I think you and her both hate the –"

"That's not true," Caitlin said, sending her a sharp look as she adjusted her glasses. "And that also isn't the point."

There was silence, for a moment, but it was not to last.

"According to my mom's people, Salem isn't on the move," Yang said, glancing to Cas. "I'm not sure what you saw in your vision –"

"It's a trap," She said darkly. "She's not moving because she's waiting for us. She's got several people by her side…including access to the Brother God of Darkness."

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "Are you pulling that out of your ass?"

"You might be pulling my shoe out of your ass if you don't shove it," Cas said, then awkwardly biting her lip. "Sorry, that was uncalled for."

"Nah," Qrow shrugged. "After all these years, I think you've earned the right to pop a boot in my ass."

"So, you're serious?" Weiss stared at her cousin in horror. "Salem has been waiting this whole time so she can kill us all through the Brother God of Darkness?"

"I'm not sure if that's her plan," Cas said slowly. "But it may very well be."

Yang swore under her breath. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to confront her," Ruby said resolutely. "That's what we do. We're huntresses; it's our duty to protect humanity and we will."

"You're remarkably confident," Weiss said, trepidation clear in her voice. "Why?"

"Because we know it's a trap," Ruby explained. "And that means we can prepare accordingly. We have the advantage of being even half of a step ahead of them. We can do this, can't we?"

"We can try," Blake said. "But it might get us killed."

"And we might survive and have a better world," Ruby countered. "Isn't that what we've always we wanted?"

"She has a point," Qrow said admitted. "We need to tell Oz, let him make the final call."

"Well," Yang said stubbornly. "Even if he says we shouldn't, I'm going. I'm not going to let this go away; it could be our only chance."

"See?" Caitlin said, gesturing to Yang. "I'm not the only one. We should go."

"Wait," Cas said, staring at her in surprise. "You want to go after Salem?"

"Well…" Caitlin sighed. "Yes and no."

"I'm going with you," Cas wrapped an arm tightly around her wife. "This isn't something that I'm going to let you do alone."

"Three of us are definitely going after her," Yang said almost smugly. "Rubes?"

"Yes," She said. "We can end this, and we have to."

"Weiss?" She questioned, and the white-haired woman nodded shortly. "Great."

"I'm going too," Blake said as she took her wife's hand. "I have to make things right, and this is my chance to do so."

"You can't really change the fact that you drove Edward Ciel's youngest child into madness," Winter reminded her. "Just because you're doing something right now, just because you have been trying to compensate –"

"I know it's not a perfect form of restitution," Blake snapped. "But it's all I've got. I'm going to regret what I've done to a lot of people for the rest of my life, but I'm going to take this chance to make things as much better as I can – to hell with whether or not I survive."

Winter raised an eyebrow. "You really have changed a lot."

Blake sighed. "What caused you to notice?"

"Sometimes it's difficult to," Winter said, hesitating for a moment as she spoke. "But it occurred to me that none of us are the same, not really. This has done more to us than we'd care to admit. The only concern I have is that we're all going to end up dead."

"That's a lovely thought," Caitlin said dryly. "So, how exactly are we going to end all of this?"

* * *

"You were…" Emmeline stared at her sister-in-law in horror. "You were pregnant?"

"I didn't know…" Karissa said, rubbing her neck as she leaned into Spencer who held her tightly against him. "I hadn't realized it, and I…I can't believe I'm even as upset about it as I am because of that. If it hadn't come up in any of the tests they ran on me, I would never have known."

"Karissa, honestly, I would be concerned if you weren't upset," Emmeline said, sending her a sympathetic look. "It's perfectly normal, and I know that you and Spencer weren't expecting that to happen, but it's still upsetting that you miscarried – especially considering the circumstances."

Karissa was silent for a long moment, struggling to reconcile her thoughts.

"'Rissa," Spencer said, his fingers gently running through her hair. "I'm upset too, and yesterday, with Natalie –"

"Oh god," Emmeline said, sharing a knowing look with Emmett. "What did she say?"

"I'd rather not talk about it too much," Karissa said. "I'd really rather not."

" _Mommy?" Luna stared at her mother who was almost absentmindedly applying makeup. "Are you okay?"_

 _Karissa flinched for a moment, startled. "What?"_

 _The young girl stared at her. "It's Sunday. I thought you didn't have work."_

 _Karissa paused, then glancing at the date at her scroll and swearing under her breath._

"' _Rissa?" Spencer stepped into their room, looking at her in concern. "Is something wrong?"_

" _Yes, there is," She snapped. "I agreed to have a meeting with the senate investigative committee a few days ago without caring that I was doing so on one of the few days a year I completely close that except for emergencies which, based on the circumstances, this isn't."_

 _Spencer glanced to Luna before looking back to his wife. "'Rissa, honey, what are you talking about? It's only one meeting –"_

" _And I'm abandoning my young daughter on her birthday because, apparently, I care about my career my than my children," Karissa shook her head as she grabbed her bag and slipped on her shoes. "I'm a horrible mother."_

 _Natalie looked up in surprise upon Karissa all but storming into the kitchen and starting to quickly brew a cup of coffee._

" _You and dad fighting?"_

 _Karissa sighed. "Later, Natalie."_

"' _Rissa?" Spencer all but ran from down the hall. "Can we at least talk about this?"_

" _I…" She bit her lip. "I'd rather not."_

" _If this is about the…" Spencer paused, the feeling of both guilt and upset rising in him again as he resisted the urge to cry. "If this is about losing the baby –"_

" _Spence –" Karissa started, sharing a knowing look with him for a moment._

" _Why do you care so much?" Natalie asked, trying to be logical. "You didn't even know, so what does it matter? You didn't want another kid, did you?"_

 _Karissa went silent, barely moving even as Spencer came over to her and pulled her tightly into his arms in an attempt to comfort her._

" _Whatever," She said, standing up with her magazine in hand. "I'm going to go relax."_

"That's absolutely horrible," Brianna said. "What is her problem? What the two of you are going through is horrible enough. What the two of you have already been going through has been bad enough."

"She does have her own problems," Emmeline reminded her. "She's been through far more than a seventeen-year-old should have. It's not entirely her fault."

"I know that," Brianna sighed. "But she's not helping things either. If she's processing pain by trying to be numb to it, she's only going to make it worse because the mind doesn't work that way. Even if you try to numb the pain afflicting you by hiding from it, there will come a time when it will resurface and it will only get worse."

"That's reassuring," Emmeline said dryly. "But probably accurate."

"I've seen it happen before," Brianna told her. "And, to be honest, guilt works in a very similar way; sometimes the two are tied."

Ronnie gave her a gentle squeeze. "You did nothing wrong with the PENNY Project, and that was years ago –"

"Ronnie, what you don't understand is that even if, technically, there was nothing wrong, it felt like there was," Brianna took his hands tightly in hers. "And I wish I were that way more often than not because you…you've made your own mistakes, but yours never cost anyone their life…and that project did. More than one person, as it happened."

"I thought it was only the android herself," Emmett said, as he adjusted his glasses. "There was someone else?"

"Capturing the aura that was infused in her was messy," Brianna said shortly. "And that's all I'm ever going to say on the subject; that's all I have ever said on the subject."

Emmeline raised an eyebrow. "Alright…"

"Karissa," Brianna said, giving her a slightly pleading look. "I know this is terrible, and that you and Spencer are going to have to find a way to move forward, but please do not blame yourselves. It's only going to make it worse."

Emmeline gently placed a hand on her sister-in-law's shoulder. "You know what it did to me after I…"

"I'm never leaving you again," Emmett promised her, kissing her cheek softly. "You believe me, right Emmy?"

She nodded as she embraced him tightly. "I believe you…"

"I still can't believe that Varna's trial begins tomorrow, and that Alice is still on the loose," Karissa said, an edge of bitterness in her voice. "And that's not to mention what she did to Cas."

Emmeline looked to her in surprise. "What did she do to Cas?"

"You don't…" Karissa looked to Spencer for a moment. "I thought she knew."

"I –" Spencer started.

"What the hell is it that I'm supposed to know?" Emmeline said, a warning note entering her voice. "Karissa, please –"

"She tried to kill her to get under Caitlin's skin," Spencer said quickly, glancing to his wife. "That's right isn't it?"

"I wish it weren't," Karissa said, then sighing. "And I think she was trying to get to all of us."

"This is not…" Emmeline stood up quickly and dumped out all of the contents of her purse to reach her scroll. "If that isn't in the system –"

"It is," Ronnie told her tiredly. "Caitlin logged it the day after it happened in the case file for Alice."

Emmett raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't think to tell us?"

"I assumed, like everyone else, that you already knew about it," Ronnie reminded her. "Don't –"

"So, to be clear," Emmett said. "You all knew that my daughter had almost died, and none of you thought to tell me or my wife about it?"

An awkward silence passed.

"I suppose it's…fair enough," Emmeline eventually said, and Emmett stared at her in shock. "As an assumption at least, although if you all expected us to take it any better –"

"How are we supposed to take this in any way but terrible?" Emmett exclaimed as he stood up. "That woman is a dangerous menace to society and is continuously attempting to murder members of our family like it's –"

"Emmett –" Emmeline said as she started towards him.

"Like it's some kind of perverse game," He finished. "I don't know what we're going to do."

Emmeline placed a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "Emmett, I've survived more than a few attempts on my life, believe me when I say that we're going to be okay."

"She's right," Ronnie said. "For the most part, she has been."

"I just don't want anything else to happen," Emmett said softly, glancing towards the third floor where his two youngest and his niece were asleep. "Haven't we lost enough?"

Emmeline sighed heavily. "Sometimes, I don't even know what we're fighting for."

* * *

"You're a bit much sometimes," Cristal said, eyeing Blake a bit suspiciously as he struggled to make cosmopolitans. "In that sense, you really are like a brother to me."

Blake laughed. "I know your brother, and he's more flamboyant than I'll ever be."

"He's always been that way," James reminded him. "Although he wore some pretty stupid things when we were younger."

"The dress?" Allison suggested. "The strappy one that was pretty trashy?"

"You chose that dress for him," Elizabeth said, then shaking her head. "I don't even know why you had that in your closet to begin with."

"Sometimes," Allison said. "You have to be trashy."

"That dress was too trashy," Elizabeth said pointedly. "I saw pictures a few years ago when Cristal showed me. I'm shocked your breasts didn't summon a hungry infant."

Blake smirked as he pulled his wife into him with his good arm. "It certainly got me going."

"Blake!" She exclaimed. "Please don't!"

"Sorry," He said, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I was just being honest."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Does being honest mean disturbing everyone else?"

"I've seen far worse," Ozpin told her. "Really."

Cristal considered that for a moment. "I'm sure about that," She finally said. "You and I have a tendency to be just as openly affectionate as them."

"Alright," Elizabeth said, looking to Blake. "If I'm going to tolerate you and your uncomfortable stories, the least you can do is give me decent wine."

He rolled his eyes. "I thought Cristal was the alcoholic."

The small woman scowled. "That's not okay."

"Sorry," He said, pushing a bottle of red wine towards Elizabeth. "Have at it."

"I will," She said, activating her powers as the Summer Maiden and using them to summon a wine glass into her hand from across the room. "And you forgot about that."

"Sometimes I do," He shrugged. "I'm just glad we're not at each other's throats."

Elizabeth sighed as she poured her glass. "You have no idea…"

"So…" Allison said with a small smile. "How have you and James been?"

"Alright," Elizabeth said. "The Council's been hell."

"You're understating," Blake said darkly. "It's been worse than that."

"Well," She said dryly. "Worrying which one of our friends is going to be the next to die or almost die isn't exactly conducive for anything better than hell."

"Lovely," Allison sighed. "I don't know what we're going to do."

"None of us do," Cristal reminded her. "Which only makes everything worse."

Ozpin gently wrapped an arm around her. "It'll be okay."

"I hope so," Cristal said, tiredly adjusting her glasses. "I don't want anything to happen to us, or to Courtney."

"Nothing will," He swore. "I promise."

"Blake, can we –" Michael Adel paused as he stepped into the room, first noticing his ex-wife. "Eliza…sorry, Madame Morell –"

"Don't even," She said, sending him a sharp look. "Something wrong?"

"I'll say," Blake said, half-amused. "That suit looks stupid, Michael. Why the plaid? Why, why, why?"

"I agree with him," Allison said, laughing a bit in spite of herself. "Dark blue plaid with a white shirt and grey tie? You look ridiculous."

"Allison," He said. "I know you're a designer, but don't criticize my clothes. James is in his full-dress uniform –"

"I just got here from Council meetings," He countered. "That's different."

Blake glanced to his brother a bit awkwardly. "What is it you wanted to talk about?"

"I was going to ask if you could persuade Eliza to speak with me –"

"Well," She said, crossing her arms. "What do you want to discuss?"

Michael motioned for her to follow him and she hesitantly did so until they were certain the others could not hear them.

"I'm sorry about what I did," He eventually said. "I should have been honest with you from the start about what I was doing and why, and I should have given you a say in it."

Elizabeth took in a sharp breath. "Do you mean that?"

"Of course I do," He said, looking at her in concern. "It's my fault, and I know I hurt you more trying to hide it over the years than not. You've been through more than most people could survive, and I shouldn't have lied to you."

"Then why did you?" She asked. "Why did you let it become a scandal?"

"I don't know," He admitted. "But it probably had something to do with my pride."

Elizabeth was silent for a long moment.

"Michael," She said, hesitation clear in her voice. "I loved you, and I thought that we were honest with each other so much as we could be. You have no way of understanding how horrible it was for me to hear what you had done in the way I did."

"I'm sorry," He said gently. "I really am."

"It didn't just hurt me," She reminded him. "Neither of our children were happy about what happened either."

"I know," Michael said. "I know."

"James has been here for me in a way that you never were," She said, brushing tears away from her eyes. "And I really do love him –"

"I'm not trying to convince you to give me a second chance," He said, and she nodded. "I want you to move on with your life, and I need to move on with mine."

Elizabeth sighed heavily. "I appreciate that and…and I forgive you."

Michael, albeit with some hesitation, embraced her and, after a moment, she did as well.

"Thank you…" He said as he released her. "That's all I wanted to hear."

Elizabeth started back but paused upon hearing footsteps.

"Eliza?" James said as they all but slammed into each other. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," She said, smiling as he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "I love you."

"I love you too," He said as they joined the others. "What's that, Blake?"

"Well," He smirked as he took a sip but then grimaced as he set it down. "I think that's straight vodka mixed with something that was left in the freezer too long."

Cristal rolled her eyes. "That sounds about right."

"Unfortunately, yes," Blake shook his head. "I think we should all be glad that I'm not a bartender."

"I'm struggling to see you surviving in a saloon," Cristal laughed at the notion. "Although I can see you moodily wiping down tables while you talk to someone drowning their sorrows in alcohol."

"I'd say that's you, but I think you'd slap me," He replied. "Is that about right?"

"Well…" Cristal said. "That depends."

"On what?" Ozpin asked as he affectionately ran a hand through her thick, white curls. "Should I be worried?"

"You know I'd never do that to you," She said with a smile. "There are a few people, on the other hand, that should be worried."

"I call it!" Blake declared. "I'm not sure you can reach me!"

She shrugged. "You are only 5'9''."

Blake smirked. "Damn it, you're right."


	114. Chapter 114

_**May 27th  
**_ _ **Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council  
**_ _ **Department Of Criminal, Civil, and Corporate Prosecution  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **Security Level: Maximum  
**_ _ **Necessary Security Clearance: High to Maximum  
**_ _ **9:21 PM**_

"May the twenty seventh, year two thousand and twenty-eight after destruction," The judge said, the calm authority of her voice carrying through the room. "Brought before an internationally-summoned jury, four appointed prosecutors per each major kingdom, and four defense attorneys per each major kingdom is the prime minister of the Vacuoian Federation: Rosalinde Diana Varna. State prosecutor of the United Kingdom of Atlas, Kiara Melissa Davis, bring the charges against the defendant."

Varna scowled upon Davis standing up haughtily and turning to address the courtroom.

"The prosecution maintains that the prime minister of the Vacuoian Federation has committed monetary fraud, extortion, election fraud, and genocide."

The judge turned towards Varna. "Does the defendant rebuke any of the charges?"

Varna's defense attorneys all stood up, but she motioned for them to sit down so that she herself could speak.

"I rebuke all of them," She said, her voice pompously clipped. "If I did not, I wouldn't have plead not guilty, would I?"

"State prosecutor of the Vacuoian Federation," The judge said, then taking in a sharp breath despite herself. "Viana Kyra, would you like to present your kingdom's evidence against prime minister Rosalinde Varna?"

Kyra bit her lip as she stepped forward. "Prime Minister Varna, you have committed crimes on the same level as the previous tyrant which ruled our kingdom: Fae Kyra. You have stolen money from the people for your own people, and you have continued to build your wealth through tax evasion and fraud. Furthermore, you have extorted members of parliament to do your will out of fear of assassination or the destruction of their lives or reputations. You have kept yourself in power through the manipulation of our electoral system and thus destroying any semblance of democracy held in the kingdom, and you have committed genocide against the faunus."

Varna pursed her lips. "I have dedicated my life to be the antithesis to the tyranny which your mother brought upon our kingdom. Furthermore, I would hardly call what my government has done to the faunus a genocide."

Kyra narrowed her eyes. "Define what your government has done to the faunus, then."

Varna leaned forward, resting her hands on-top of each other. "What my government has done to the faunus is simply to make things better in the kingdom because they are causing crisis. The faunus have no purpose aside from serving us, the rightful rulers of this world. Kingdoms like Vale and Atlas, in contrast, are enabling them to wreak their havoc."

Kyra, albeit with her hands shaking, pressed play on a recording of her estranged and deceased mother speaking similarly during a speech regarding her ideas on handling what she had framed as the issue of the faunus.

 _"They're not like us!" Fae said, stepping further towards the crowd with her voice only getting louder. "And they have no purpose aside from serving us, the rightful rulers of this world! Kingdoms like Vale and Atlas are enabling them to wreak their havoc! However, I will personally do whatever it takes to bring this kingdom to prosperity and to put the others in this world in their place!"_

Varna began to respond angrily, but was interrupted by her attorney from her own kingdom.

"Permission to speak for my client?" Gianna Vincent stood up and stepped towards Varna upon the judge nodding curtly. "Prosecutor, why do you classify what our kingdom has done to the faunus as a genocide?"

Kyra tightened. "Because it is the deliberate murder and removal of the faunus from having any semblance of power. Over thirty thousand faunus have been killed in only the last two years, and it is tied directly to orders made by the prime minister."

"To the contrary," Vincent said smoothly. "That has merely been necessary to maintain peace."

Kyra motioned towards Kiara Davis who, albeit with a raised eyebrow, stood up and took her place.

"In what way, might I ask, is that considered peacekeeping?" Davis asked, and Varna sent her attorney a sharp look. "Surely innocent people were killed without cause."

"It was peacekeeping because the faunus refuse to bow," Varna said, a tinge of anger in her voice. "And they have refused outright to defend the laws that my government has put in place for the safety of myself and others."

Kiara considered that for a moment but then shook her head. "Your argument is inherently fallacious and only serves to provide a personal motive for the death of over thirty thousand people. You have taken what has suited you because you crave power. You kill innocent people for the sake of manufacturing conflict so that the people turn on the faunus and not you. In that, you manage to hush the voices of your own people and claim that in doing such that you're trying to protect them. Furthermore, you make your enemies or those that disparage you disappear in order to continue to preserve your power through fear. In what way, then, are you different than Fae Kyra? In what way are you conceivably not guilty?"

Varna was silent for a few minutes; however, when she finally spoke, contempt was written all through her voice.

"I am not guilty because I am protecting people. I've barely killed anyone. And," She narrowed her violet eyes at the woman before her. "I don't step over the law for the sake of furthering myself. Unlike Fae Kyra, I have never been, nor will I ever be, an evil, ruthless dictator."

"Yet you have done many of the same things she has," Kiara countered. "And you have committed murder in public for the sake of causing a scene –"

"And you are a power-hungry woman who has done everything in her power to game the Atlesian system for her own advantages," Varna laughed dryly. "You're absolutely –"

"Digression and contempt," The judge said, tapping her gavel down and sending Varna a sharp look. "Madame Davis, please finish your remarks."

"There is overwhelming evidence against you, the majority of which is public knowledge," Kiara said, a faint bit of arrogance in her voice. "And you are the greatest evil that this world faces today. Perhaps you will not be in the lens of history but, as of today, you have done nothing but destroy democracy, freedom, peace, and the rights of both human beings and the faunus."

Yet, for all that Kiara thought she knew, there was a greater evil being confronted in the shadows and behind closed doors; an evil that she spent a great deal of time choosing to forget about.

* * *

"Salem," Ozpin said, stepping into the expansive Great Hall in which the Brother God of Darkness had once held domain. "I know you have wanted this fight for a long time."

She raised an eyebrow upon turning away from her mirror and noticing Cristal by his side. "Are you really going to let her die too?"

Ozpin shook his head. "No, I am not going to let anything happen to Chrissy."

"Chrissy!" Salem exclaimed. "I see you really do love horrible people! The haughty, wealthy CEO of the largest producer of Dust in the world! I'll never understand how you can believe that people like her can have any benefits to your –"

"You're seriously overestimating my character," Cristal informed her as she adjusted her glasses. "And you have to know that it's not only us."

Salem set a hand to her hip, eyes pulsing dangerously. "Of course I do."

The doors swung open dramatically, and the others stepped into the room with their weapons in hand. Crescent Rose was resting in its fully scythe form against Ruby's shoulder and steadied in her hands. Weiss was leaning lightly against Myrtenaster, the tip of her sword slightly dug into the ground. Gambol Shroud was held tightly in Blake's hands and she stared down the woman they were standing before with a slight pit in her stomach. Yang steadied her stance and adjusted Ember Celica, while also looking around to the others. Qrow was ready with Harbinger in his hands, and Winter was poised with her swords. Emmeline had a hand on her rifle and Emmett held his sword in his hands though he had not fought himself in years. James held his shotgun tightly in his hand, and Elizabeth nervously brushed off her dress pants and blazer as she struggled herself with her powers as the Summer Maiden. Cas had two different guns in her hands, and, beside her, Caitlin menacingly forged an obsidian glass sword from gravity and ice Dust with the aid of her powers as a sorceress. Salem pursed her lips as her gaze traveled over them, then smirking as she spoke.

"You have no idea who you're fighting against," She laughed as her allies stepped out from the shadows. "It's amusing, to me, how almost all of you are Atlesian. The universe is over fourteen billion years old, and, while humanity has only been around for a few million years, it has grown only the more arrogant."

Adam snorted. "That's an understatement,"

"I have known of only a few people more arrogant than the leaders of the Atlesian Council or of its military," Salem shook her head. "I suppose, in that sense, it's fitting that the chair of the Atlesian National Security Council has the arrogance to confront me, that two generals have the arrogance to confront me, that a doctor of psychology and rising council leader has the arrogance to confront me, that the CEO, COO, and CFO of one of the largest corporations in the world have the arrogance to confront me."

"What about the others?" Mercury sneered. "Other than those Schnee girls, the rest of them are Valerian."

"It matters not," Salem said, stepping towards them. "You are unaware of the forces with which you entangle yourselves."

"This has gone on for too long," Ozpin told her, tightening his grip on his cane. "And it has taken too many lives to be justifiable."

"Every single person in this world is expendable," She replied. "Even your own children."

Ozpin flinched. "No one is going to harm Courtney."

Salem rolled her eyes. "You have done everything to keep your wife and child safe, and, yet, there is no safety and, after tonight, there never will be."

Adam all but slithered over to Blake and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

"Are you really going to give up everything?" He questioned. "Everything we've ever fought for or had?"

"Let me go," Blake told him. "Before you regret everything you've ever done."

"You and I are tied, Blake," He said. "There is nothing that can change that. You can deny it all you like, but you will never be able to escape what you have done. At your core, you're always going to be the young, power-hungry terrorist you were with me. Were things not better then?"

"Things were worse," She said as she wrenched herself from his grasp and turned to face him. "And I will never allow myself to go back to that time."

Swiftly, she punched him in the face and knocked off his mask. A heavy silence hung over the room for a moment in which no one moved. Cristal, Emmett, and Cas all felt sick upon seeing the branding on his blinded eye which read SDC. Adam was seething in anger, but he still did not act immediately. It was not until Mercury advanced on Yang that fervent fighting ensued. He swung his foot towards her in an attempt to knock her to the ground, but she caught his foot. Releasing one hand, she shot him twice in the neck, but his aura prevented immediately fatal damage. With that, she flipped him to the ground and evaded a mirrored attack from Emerald through a time dilation of Weiss'. Blake and Adam had cast aside their weapons and were fighting fist to fist; she dodged several quick punches he sent her way but was kicked several feet back as she tried to pin him to the ground.

Tyrion, laughing maniacally with each attack he managed to slip through, was dueling Qrow, Winter, and Cas. The young CFO was harshly beaten to the ground by the crazed man and fell unconscious with her guns strewn beside her. As Qrow and Winter continued to deflect the man's attacks from different angles and try to pin him themselves, Emmett saw what had happened to his eldest child and, heart pounding, ran towards them to engage in the fight himself. Tyrion, amused by having another opponent he thought weakened by his own nature, dropped his guard a bit despite better judgement. This action, which he would not live to regret, allowed Emmett to slip in just enough to slice off the man's stinger and then force him down with his sword pressing against the maniac's throat. Fear overtook Tyrion in spite of himself, and he cursed himself upon realizing how weakened his aura had become in his taunting attacks.

"I'm not going to kill you," Emmett told him. "I can't do that to another person, no matter how horrible they may be."

"What the hell are you doing –" Winter started.

"You're a fool," Tyrion laughed once more. "You, like the rest of them, are too noble for your own benefit. Have you any understanding that this is your destruction, the end of everything that you've ever held –"

Qrow pushed Emmett off of the man and stabbed him clean through the chest, killing him instantly regardless of the faint bit of aura which he had still retained.

"That was pleasant," He remarked dryly. "And –"

"Don't you dare!" Yang yelled as Mercury attempted to shoot Ruby from a distance as she engaged Emerald with Weiss. "She's –"

"You're a mess," Mercury said through gritted teeth as she ripped his gun from his hands and kicked him harshly in the stomach. "Blondie."

Yang, with her semblance active, punched him in the head with a strong kick for good measure. The action caused him to lose consciousness, and she quickly moved to aid her wife against Adam. The tyrannical leader of the White Fang was gaining a slow edge on his former partner as he berated her and forced her to remember the life she had led. Blake's foot slipped beneath her as she deflected a punch, but Yang stepped between them swiftly enough to prevent the man from ending her life in that instant. Seeing her gun nearby, Blake forced herself up and grabbed it from the ground, but she struggled to steady it in her hands. It was not until he almost had a choking grip on Yang that Blake forced herself to shoot Adam clean through the heart and he fell to the ground dead.

In the meantime, Emerald found a challenge greater than she had anticipated in Weiss and Ruby. Both women had become stronger than they had been when they had last fought, but it was above where Emerald had expected. Ruby swung easily over her with the aid of her scythe, allowing Weiss to parry the other woman's attacks with her sword. Emerald swore under her breath upon feeling Ruby manage a sharp kick to her back but took advantage of the moment to fire a shot into Weiss' leg. The woman let out a sharp cry of pain and stumbled with her aura flickering. Pulling up and prepared to aid her partner, Ruby slammed Crescent Rose into Emerald's side and kicked her in the head. The brute force took the woman from consciousness, much like her partner, allowing Ruby a brief moment in which she could do what she could to Weiss' leg.

"Someone like you, a sorceress?" Salem eyed Caitlin Ciel with pure disdain. "Like your mother, you hold little beyond your arrogance."

Caitlin scowled and pushed up her glasses as she took a step towards the woman with her sword in hand. "I don't think you want to try me."

Salem laughed dryly. "The ironic thing," She replied. "Is that I do."

Nearby, Emmeline and James were shooting at Hazel, but he managed to evade quite a few of their attacks. As the small general attempted to engage him more directly, he moved swiftly enough to knock her back. Swearing as she stood up, she began to aim several punches and kicks towards him which allowed James to make a few shots which finally broke his aura. In anger, Hazel pulled out a dagger which neither had known he had with him and stabbed Emmeline multiple times in the side. The general could not stop herself from letting out a few short cries of pain, but she, albeit barely, managed to gain a strong enough grip on her rifle as he continued to stab her in order to shoot him between the eyes. The shot went clean through him, and a second shot fired pierced him near enough the heart to kill him instantaneously. It was not, however, without consequence and, as the general struggled to push herself up and rip the knife out of her side, she fell deeply unconscious on the ground.

Cas let out a scream of horror upon seeing her mother in such a state; she had come to only a few minutes prior. Alongside Emmett, she ran towards her mother to protect her and keep her alive. As everything around seemed to be moving at a continuous, breakneck pace, Ozpin, Cristal, Elizabeth, and Caitlin fought Salem with as much fervor and strength as they could muster. The Summer and Winter maidens forced their powers to collide, an action which caused both of them to step back though they did not deactivate their magic. With this, both Elizabeth and Cristal slammed their magic into Salem. The woman fell to the ground upon the immense force but used her magic to slam Caitlin into the wall. The young woman let out a cry of pain, and, as Ruby looked towards her in horror, forced herself up just as the other woman activated her silver eyes. Salem screamed in agony and violent anger and found herself struggling to stand even after the light had completely faded.

"You still don't know what you are doing," Salem hissed at Ozpin. "You still are completely unable to see what this world truly should have been. Strength is never going to bring you victory, and I can see full well that you have that."

Caitlin tentatively brushed her fingers against the mirror, and her eyes went wide upon seeing a faint vision.

"None of this is worth the price that has been paid," Ozpin replied, wrapping an arm tightly around Cristal. "And no one else should have to die for this."

Salem laughed upon Caitlin stepping towards her without her powers activated.

"You may be brighter than most," Salem said with a smirk. "But your doctorate of psychology doesn't give you a chance against me."

"I don't need a chance against you," Caitlin said, taking another step towards her and tossing back her long, dark red hair. "I only need my nerve."

The twenty-seven-year-old slammed the woman into the mirror and activated her magic just long enough to push her through and trap her within the mirror. Once the shimmering ceased, Ozpin pressed his hand against the mirror and sealed it permanently. With that, a temporary peace fell over them but there was horror gripping them as Emmeline's life held in the balance.

* * *

Karissa Mar raised an eyebrow upon reading the transcript from the first day of the trial on her scroll.

"Ronnie," She said, setting her scroll aside and adjusting her reading glasses. "I think, at this point, we can definitively state that, if she somehow gets acquitted in this trial or is sent back to Vacuo to be held there, nothing good is going to happen to her at the end."

Ronnie nodded, glancing over the transcript himself. "She's going to be killed even if she can't be executed."

"Chances are that the people of Vacuo will do something disgusting to her," Karissa sighed. "If she were as good as she thinks she is, she would have gotten out while she still had the chance."

"Are we going to do anything?" He asked. "Or would that be considered an example of our kingdom overstepping?"

"Most likely we can't punish her in the way that we would like," Karissa said, tiredly running a hand through her azure curls. "But, if this ends without justice and she goes free, someone has to do something. We barely have a grasp on peace as it is, and that is such a fragile thing…"

A weighty silence hung between them for a few minutes which felt to be much longer.

"Luna's asleep," Spencer said, coming into the room from down the hall and running a hand through his messy dark hair. "Courtney did her hair, although the makeup was a bit much."

Karissa laughed softly. "I'm sure they enjoyed themselves."

Spencer came over to her and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. "I'm just glad that we're alright."

"I suppose," Karissa said, silent for a brief moment but then standing up. "I'm exhausted, I'll deal with the information regarding Varna's trial more in the morning."

Ronnie nodded and quickly left, shutting the door almost silently behind him.

"'Rissa," Spencer said as he locked up and then followed her down to their room. "Are you alright?"

She hesitated. "Spence –"

"We don't have to talk if you don't want to," He said softly. "But I know that it's been a difficult few weeks and, honestly, I don't know what I feel or what we're going to do."

She wrapped her arms tightly around him and he tentatively rubbed her back.

"I don't know what I feel either," She finally admitted. "I just want things to be better than they are. I don't want to lose you, I don't want to lose Luna, and I…I can't bear the thought of anything happening to anyone else, let alone my own family after…after everything."

"I'm sorry…" He murmured. "I want the same thing, honey, I really do."

"I know," She said quietly. "I'm just not sure that will ever be able to happen, not anymore."


	115. Chapter 115

_**June 1st  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **8:13 PM**_

Natalie Ciel stood on the balcony, the warm, humid wind whipping through her hair. It was early into the night, and there was something liberating about being completely alone and only feeling the sensations of the air and between her hands on her skin. Her hands were gripping the metal railing and a thin layer of sweat was beginning to form. Though she knew that, now, she was technically safe, she did not believe that there was anything in the world that would prevent harm from being incurred by her family. It did not matter, in her view, that the sorceress of all damnation was gone because her family's legacy had already forever been changed. She was well aware that her brothers disagreed with her obsession with what their legacy would be, but she cared a great deal about it. Grudgingly, she had conceded that was something she shared with Ronnie. After all, that was one of the predominant reasons he was in several of the messes he was in to begin with.

"What are you doing out here?" Percival asked, stepping out onto the balcony himself. "You're not going to do anything to yourself, are you?"

Natalie turned towards him in shock. "You think I'm that insensitive? Aunt Emmeline almost died, and you think I'm going to end my own life? Do you really think I'm that full of spite?"

"No," Percival said, then sighing. "I think you just have a tendency towards being mean, and I was worried that you were trying to shut everyone out again."

Natalie bit her lip. "Mean?"

"You found out that mom…" Percival lowered his voice, not wanting to be overheard. "Had a miscarriage and you said you thought she wouldn't care because she wouldn't even want another baby."

She stared at him. "I thought she didn't."

"Whether that's true or not doesn't matter," Percival told her. "It's still upsetting to go through that. She and dad are still trying to move forward, or hadn't you noticed?"

"I can't change what happened!" Natalie snapped. "And I really don't think she cares that much!"

"If she didn't care that much, she wouldn't have gotten so upset over little things like arranging a meeting on Luna's birthday!" Percival shook his head. "She's trying to suppress it, because that's what works best for her."

"Why do you care so much what I say?" Natalie crossed her arms. "Why do you care about any of this?"

"Because Karissa has been there for all of us in a way that I know our biological mother never could have been," Percival was silent for a moment, but then reached for the door. "If you don't believe me, ask daddy. He loves Karissa, the two of them aren't constantly fighting the way he and Arianna always were, and…and he would be even more destroyed losing her than he was when he lost mom. You saw what happened when he thought she was going to die…just…just remember that."

"Percy –" Spencer paused in the doorway. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," He said. "Just tired."

Spencer nodded, stepping out of the way. "Night."

"Night…" Percival said, heading down to his room.

Spencer and Natalie stared at each other for a long moment in silence until he stepped out onto the balcony and shut the door.

"Nattie," He said, sitting down on one of the cushioned chairs as she did the same. "What's going on?"

"If you're going to say that I'm a horrible daughter, then get it out of the way," Natalie said dejectedly. "I know you like Luna more than me."

"That's not true," Spencer said, an edge of sharpness to his voice. "I love all four of you; you're all my babies, and –"

"Did you ever feel anything for mom?" Natalie bit off. "Or did the two of you just stay together because it was convenient?"

Spencer sighed. "Natalie, you and I both know that your mother and I had a complex and volatile relationship. I did love her, but that didn't mean that our marriage was easy or that she and I –"

"You and Karissa got involved three years after she died," Natalie reminded him. "Don't you think that was too soon?"

"No, I don't," Spencer said. "I was not going to move on from your mother much more than I already had by that point and being with Karissa has been one of the best things in my life. I love her so much, and she…"

Natalie raised an eyebrow. "She what?"

"She is the sole woman that I truly love," Spencer said, sending his daughter a pointed look although his voice softened as he went on. "I didn't really know what…what it felt like to need someone more than anyone else until I fell in love with Karissa, but I need her in my life. She is where my life is centered, and I can't bear the thought of losing her. I just wish you could understand that, because there is nothing that will make me love and want Karissa any less."

Natalie chewed at the inside of her cheek. "Daddy, I've never really been able to reconcile myself with mom's death."

"And I know that was hard for you," Spencer said gently. "It was hard for all of us."

"I know that the rest of the family has moved on," She said, staring at her hands. "But I haven't. How can I when I'm all but the mirror image of her? I don't care that I look more like you, I have her eyes and that's all I can see when I look into the mirror. I don't hate Karissa, I honestly like her, but it's still difficult for me to see the two of you together when all I can think about is wanting my mother back."

"I know," He said, standing up and running a hand tiredly through his hair. "I'll let you have some time to think, okay?"

Natalie smiled weakly. "Thanks."

Spencer shut the door quietly behind himself. "Luna?" He called out. "Are you still awake, baby?"

Luna all but jumped off of the couch and embraced him. "Mommy did my hair!"

Spencer smiled as he picked her up. "I can see that."

"Isn't it pretty?" The seven-year-old grinned. "Braids!"

"It is," Spencer said as he started down the hall. "Where's mommy?"

"She's in your room," Luna said. "But –"

"Lunes?" Karissa paused for a moment, then sighing. "Sorry, I just got a little worried."

The young girl stared at her mother in concern. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Karissa said quickly. "I just wanted to make sure I saw you before you went to sleep."

Luna raised an eyebrow as Spencer set her down. "I don't understand."

"Luna," Spencer said, wrapping an arm tightly around Karissa. "Can you let us talk for a few minutes?"

She nodded and skipped into her room.

"It's alright," He said, giving Karissa a gentle squeeze. "We don't have to worry about Salem or any of that war anymore."

She sighed heavily. "And yet we've failed to find any hope."

He held her close for a long moment.

"'Rissa," He said softly. "Is there anything that you want me to do?"

"I just want you to stay," She said quietly. "I'm off for the next few days, why don't we take that time for ourselves?"

He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I like the sound of that."

"Maybe we just need to re-center…" She said, resting her head on his shoulder. "We have the chance to now, don't we?"

* * *

"This is nice…" Elizabeth curled into James in their bed, and he wrapped his cybernetic arm tightly around her. "I never thought we'd have a real chance to relax, for even a moment."

"I know," James said, leaning over slightly to kiss her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too…" She sighed. "I wish we had more time alone."

"Me too," James held her close. "You don't think we've moved too fast, do you?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Even if we have, it's a little too late to overthink now."

"Fair enough," He replied. "I think we've been alright so far."

"Dad?" Alyssa Ironwood poked her head into the room, startling both Elizabeth and James. "What's going on?"

"Should I be asking you that?" James asked, glancing nervously to Elizabeth. "Alyssa?"

"Um…" She awkwardly tapped her foot. "Well…Eddie kind of sort of blew up something downstairs when we were trying make cookies."

James raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"So…" Alyssa smiled uncomfortably. "We spilled candle wax that we'd melted because we were struggling to light the fire on the stove, and then we realized there was a knob to do that with, and then we tried to melt the chocolate chips over it, but the…there was some lighter fluid still in the candle, and it spilled all the way out, and the chocolate kind of exploded."

James stared at her for a moment and then sighed. "We'll be down in a minute."

Alyssa nodded as she started to run down the hall. "…Eddie, it's going to be okay –"

"Why?" Elizabeth laughed a bit in spite of herself as she pulled on her silk pants and tight satin tank top. "James, I'm sorry but my kids never did anything like that, and they destroyed a lot of things doing science experiments."

"I believe that," He replied, pulling on his clothes and then wrapping an arm around her as they walked. "But they're a little wilder."

"So I've noticed," Elizabeth shrugged. "I suppose they'll get past it."

"If this is really bad, I'm going to start hiding things that they could conceivably use as explosives," James said, half-jokingly. "Because no one needs to die in the next few weeks."

"I'll second that," Elizabeth said, a hint of a dark note to her voice. "All things considered."

"I promise it's not that bad!" Edward declared as they stepped into the room. "See? No one is dead, no one is hurt –"

"And yet I'm inherently suspicious," James said, and Elizabeth crossed her arms with an amused smile as she watched him look over the waxy remains. "That looks bad."

"It's still melting," Alyssa said, poking at it with a knife. "I think we might need to get this fixed."

"What exactly were the two of you thinking?" James asked them. "Because this is a mess."

Edward looked to Alyssa. "It was her idea!"

"No, it was your idea!" She scowled at him and stuck out her tongue. "Stop trying to pin the blame on me!"

"You're the one who –"

"You –"

"Both of you, stop it!" James exclaimed, staring at both of them in shock. "Can we please not do this?"

Alyssa and Edward narrowed their eyes at each other for a moment before sighing heavily.

"Fine," He said. "We'll fix this…sort of…"

"If that's possible," Alyssa muttered. "I'm not so sure that it is."

"Really?" Edward rolled his eyes. "I had absolutely no idea!"

"Shut up," She said, punching his arm playfully. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

"Yeah," Edward smirked. "What's wrong with that?"

James smiled as he stepped over to and took Elizabeth's hand.

"I'm just glad that we can have these fights to deal with," He said. "At least we're going to be able to move forward."

"That's the hope," She said. "Isn't it?"

* * *

"I'm so glad you're alright," Emmett murmured, squeezing his wife's hand. "Really, Emmy, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you…"

She sighed. "I don't want to think about that, and I'm in a world of pain right now, Emmett."

"You were stabbed multiple times in the side," Edward reminded her. "It's going to take a while for that to heal."

Emmeline scowled. "That's not helpful, dad."

"Sorry," He said, turning to Emmett as he adjusted his bowler hat. "Do you two fight like this all the time?"

Emmett raised an eyebrow. "No, why?"

"Because I was a stubborn child," Emmeline said dryly. "Supposedly."

"You can deny it, Emmeline, but you had moments where I felt like tearing my hair out," Edward laughed for a brief moment. "You used to drive Ronnie crazy when you'd get in the way of his organizing."

Emmeline groaned. "I only did that when we were teenagers –"

"Isn't this funny?" Cas said, smirking as she looked to Ari, Ella, and Courtney. "I never thought that it would be like this."

Courtney summoned an orb and popped it in her cousin's face.

"What the hell was that for?" Cas started giggling and tugged on Courtney's hair. "Are we even?"

Courtney shrugged. "Sure. Let's call it even."

"Emmeline," Cristal said as she paced and adjusted her glasses. "Are you feeling a little better?"

"I did come to," Emmeline said, rubbing her neck. "I suppose that's an improvement."

Emmett softly kissed her cheek. "Do you need anything?"

"I can't come up with an answer that isn't sarcastic," Emmeline said tiredly. "Honestly, though, I just want to be at home with you."

"They're letting you come home tomorrow," He reminded her. "And I promise I'll do everything in my power to help you heal."

She smiled. "I love you, Emmett."

"I love you too," He swore. "Really, I will do anything for you."

"I know you will," She said, resting her free hand over his. "I appreciate it, I do."

"You two are adorable," Ella said happily. "And, with Salem gone, we're safe!"

"That's not quite accurate –" Edward started.

"Safe from her, at any rate," Cas said, and Ella nodded. "Things can slow down a bit, though."

"The grimm aren't going to disappear," Cristal reminded her. "There's always going to be conflict; this world is completely incapable of maintaining true peace, not without the destruction of liberty."

"I know," Cas said. "But that doesn't mean that we don't have things to hope for."

"Of course there is!" Ari exclaimed. "There's always hope."

"You're scarily optimistic," Emmeline said, and Ari sighed. "I wish I were that way, but I can't be. The world isn't like that, and it never is going to be."

"Cas?" Caitlin awkwardly stepped into the room, adjusting her purse on her shoulder. "Oh, good, Emmeline, you're okay."

"You don't look like you are," She noted. "Did something happen?"

"Not of consequence," Caitlin replied. "I'm honestly just tired."

Cas stood up and embraced her wife. "At least tomorrow is a national holiday and we both have off work."

She shrugged. "I suppose."

"Don't you think that this is the perfect opportunity to relax?" Cas smiled. "You ended Salem, after all."

Caitlin tinged pink. "I wouldn't say that."

"True or false," Cristal said with a smirk. "Did you push her through the mirror?"

Caitlin hesitated. "Well, yes –"

"So then how are you not the one who ended Salem?" Cristal rolled her eyes. "You're too stubborn for your own good sometimes."

"I…" Caitlin sighed heavily. "Ozpin sealed her, and everyone else risked their lives. I did one thing, it doesn't make me a hero."

"I disagree," Ozpin said, sending her a sympathetic look. "We needed you to do what you did, and your use of your magic is –"

"Stop acting like I'm some sort of Savior!" Caitlin exclaimed. "I had no idea what I was doing, and I was terrified beyond belief –"

"You defeated Salem!" Courtney reminded her. "How can you not believe –"

"Because without everyone else, that never would have happened," She snapped. "Is that so hard to understand?"

There was silence for a moment.

"Caitlin," Emmett said gently. "I know that you don't like attention, but you did something incredible. We needed you just as much as you needed us, and I promise that I'm not saying that for the sake of making you feel better."

"I…" She adjusted her glasses, then smoothing down her blunt bangs and running her fingers through her dark, wavy red hair. "I know."

"This isn't going to last forever," Emmeline added. "Please don't lose sight of that."

"I'll try," Caitlin said dryly. "But I feel like this has killed what was left of the good in me."

"No," Cas said rubbing her wife's back reassuringly. "That's not true; you did what you had to, just like everyone else."

"Listen to her," Cristal said, sharing a look with Ozpin. "Really, you'll feel better."

"I guess," Caitlin said, then looking to Emmeline. "I'm going to assume everything still feels like hell?"

Emmeline laughed. "That's almost scarily accurate."

"Well, you were stabbed halfway to death," Caitlin said, glancing out the window for a brief moment. "God, I wish it would rain."

"We all do," Emmeline told her. "June and July are the worst two months in Atlas because it suddenly becomes hot."

Ari scowled. "Ugh."

"I'm just glad we have time to relax for even a little," Emmett said, awkwardly wrapping an arm around his wife. "Especially considering that there's still a lot to handle."

"Varna…" Cristal muttered. "That –"

"Oh, let it go!" A haughty voice exclaimed as she stepped into the room. "Can we celebrate the fact that I am finally free of that curse?"

Edward stared at her in shock. "Victoria?"

"I think I owe everyone…an explanation," She said, fluffing out her faded red curls. "First, my mental…distressed daughter roped me into a rather compromising position alongside Rosalinde Varna."

Caitlin snorted. "That's an understatement."

"I wasn't talking to you," Victoria said shortly. "And, besides the point, I think my mirror's powers made you feistier when they chose you."

Caitlin's green eyes went wide in shock. "What?"

"The mirror can choose someone to attain its powers once a decade," Victoria informed her. "Why do you think I never let my own children near it after Cinder gained those powers?"

"I'm going to set my own…confusion aside and ask why you're here," Edward said, sending her a pointed look. "I don't understand, Victoria, I just don't."

"I'm here because my daughter-in-law was almost killed," Victoria said, then sending Emmett a genuinely kind look. "I'm glad she's alive. The two of you don't need to lose each other again. None of us do."


	116. Chapter 116

_**June 19th  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **7:18 PM**_

"Listen," Winter said as she sipped her tea. "It's a Sunday evening, and I really don't want to drive my husband into greater alcoholism."

Victoria laughed dryly. "Because that's possible."

"And I'm cutting you off," Karissa said, taking the bottle of champagne off the table. "I'm exhausted and stressed enough as it is without having to worry about something you might say or do."

"Thank you…" Spencer said to her under his breath as he took her hand. "I don't want to see her and Qrow get into a pseudo-bar fight in our kitchen."

Karissa grimaced at the thought. "Well, I'm terrified."

"Ha!" Matt shrieked as he jumped out from behind the corner and shot Natalie with a mini paintball as she stepped into the room. "I win, sucker!"

Natalie scowled at him for a moment but then pulled a mini paintball gun out of her sock and shot her brother in the face, causing him to scream.

"What the hell was that for?" Matt exclaimed, rubbing his cheek. "That really hurt!"

Natalie tossed her hair back with a smirk. "That's what you get, bitch."

"What are you doing?" Winter asked, completely confused. "And where did you get those?"

"Natalie built them," Matt told her. "From copper piping. We just ordered the paintballs."

"And you're an asshole," Natalie said, crossing her arms and shooting him again. "That's what you get for winning."

"Oh, sorry," Matt said, rolling his eyes. "Hurting me isn't going to get you anywhere. I am numb to pain."

Qrow snorted. "Really? You're immune to pain?"

"Yep," Matt said, shooting his sister. "Ultimate triumphant victory belongs to me."

"You two are consistently confusing," Spencer remarked, wrapping an arm tightly around Karissa who smiled. "But if you shoot your little sister with that, this will not end well."

Matt shrugged. "I won't, but Natalie's kind of trigger happy."

"That's a bit scary," Edward noted, sending his granddaughter a sharp look. "Please don't go on to become a serial killer."

Natalie smirked. "Thanks for suggesting that."

"No," Spencer said with finality. "You'll be locked under the stairs forever if you try that."

"We don't have stairs," Natalie reminded him. "How would that work even if I did, say, off an entire family?"

"How about you not do that?" Matt suggested, backing away from his sister a bit. "I want to live to see the light of day again."

"Do you?" Natalie raised an eyebrow. "I thought you enjoyed flirting with death."

Matt glared. "I'm scared of pretty much everything, how do you get 'enjoy flirting with death' from that?"

Natalie shrugged. "Eh, just a feeling."

"Natalie, don't take this the wrong way," Winter started, tapping her fingers against the table. "But I hope Raquelle ends up being nothing like you."

"I hope she ends up being nothing like me too," Natalie replied. "It sucks to be me, and sure as hell isn't my fault."

Matt fidgeted awkwardly as she sauntered off and slammed the door to her room.

"Well," He eventually said. "We know what kind of mood she's in."

Qrow laughed. "I don't understand your sister at all."

"Luna's normal," Matt told him. "Or, at least, more normal than Natalie."

With that, he ran off down the hall, yelling for Percival to get their video games loaded up.

"Is this what a typical evening is like for the two of you?" Edward asked, looking to Spencer and Karissa. "Because I don't know what I would have done if you, Ronnie, and Emmeline had been like that."

"I wouldn't call this _typical_ ," Spencer said, sharing a look with Karissa. "But I also wouldn't call it _atypical_."

Victoria haughtily adjusted her hair. "You two are the strangest couple I have ever seen, and one of my daughters married Ozpin while my son married Emmeline."

"There's nothing wrong with Emmeline," Edward said defensively. "There's nothing wrong with any of them –"

"You can defend your children all you want, but they're all a mess," Victoria sipped her champagne with a smirk. "And, as for what's wrong with Emmeline, it's that she married Emmett and I never thought there would anyone in the world that would love him and be willing to put up with his nonsense."

Edward considered that. "Emmett is extremely flamboyant."

"How so?" Karissa raised an eyebrow, half-amused. "Apart from being the COO of a major Dust company, he's relatively normal."

"He has an…addiction –" Edward paused for a moment and then changed his wording. "An obsession with fur coats and expensive, aged wines."

Spencer sighed. "It's not that bad."

"Are you talking about Emmett or yourself?" Qrow questioned, getting scowls from Winter, Edward, and Karissa. "What?"

"Sometimes," Winter said, sending her husband a sharp look. "You are one of the most insensitive human beings on the planet."

"Well, given how his father phrased his thoughts on Emmett," Qrow shook his head. "He's thinking about himself, selfish as always."

Winter reached for her wine, hoping that things would not get worse.

"You have no idea the kind of things we've been through," Karissa crossed her arms and glared at Qrow. "I know you haven't had it easy, but you are such a dick sometimes that I wonder why anyone puts up with you."

Qrow matched her glare. "And you're one of the most arrogant human beings alive, while your husband is one of the most selfish. The only person I think of who is more selfish than him is Ronnie, and that's only because he cheated on his wife."

"You're never going to understand the things that this family has had sacrifice in order to hold itself together," Edward said, looking to his youngest son with sympathy. "And I know that you have been trying everything to keep you and your family together in spite of everything."

Spencer sighed. "I try to keep it together, but I can't…"

"Spence –" Karissa started, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Recovery is taking forever," He said softly, sharing a worried look with her. "And I try to pretend that I'm better, but I can't stop worrying that I'm…I'm terrified that I'm going to be faking forever."

"And you might be," Qrow told him. "Because that's what happens sometimes. I've gotten my life together, it's about time you do."

"You don't understand," Spencer said, holding his wife close. "You're so much like a lot of other people, and you keep diagnosing yourself, trading some made up epidemic, passing around prescription pills. You can never understand that…that my disorders…they can't be cured by a bottle, or a blade, or a dose because that isn't how any of this works. I don't want people to see that, I don't want people to see this, and it's because self-disgust and…and selfishness are always hanging over me."

Karissa sighed. "If either of us are selfish, it isn't you…it's me. It has always been me."

Qrow raised an eyebrow, turning to Edward. "Do you know what went wrong inside his head?"

Edward did not respond and simply sent the man an annoyed look.

"I don't have the answers for why," Spencer sent Qrow a sharp look as he spoke, but he softened as he looked to Karissa. "I can't explain why my pain clings to me, and I…I don't know why I cling to secrets that I silence out of shame, but…"

"But what?" Winter asked him in concern.

Spencer bit his lip. "Don't make me say it…"

* * *

"It'll be…interesting to find out what happens to Varna," Cristal remarked. "All things considered."

"It's not going to be pretty," Emmeline replied. "If they do send her back to Vacuo to be detained there, she's not really going to be detained. The people are going to do a show trial, and then they're going to publicly execute her."

"That's gruesome," Emmett said, wrapping an arm around her as he sat down by her side. "But not unrealistic."

"Someone is going to kill her," Emmeline said. "Whether it's her own people or not, she's going to be killed."

"It's strange seeing all of this unfold," Ozpin noted. "Especially considering that she wasn't always like this."

"She was always after power," Emmeline reminded him. "But, yes, she wasn't always a killer."

"Well," Cristal said, sipping her wine. "Some people are easily manipulated."

"It couldn't have been just her," Emmett said as he adjusted his glasses. "Personally, I think mom has some blame in all of this too."

"No one's ever going to be able to accurately pin anything on her," Cristal countered. "It doesn't matter what she may or may not have been involved in if we can't do a damn thing about it."

"Fair enough," Emmett said, glancing to Emmeline. "You really think they're going to kill her?"

"If we had the option to, Atlas would have executed her for crimes against humanity," Emmeline sighed. "I suppose this might be, from a foreign policy standpoint, a better handling of the situation."

"You don't honestly believe that," Cristal shrugged. "I know you haven't got a say in it, but we could handle this without there being rioting and violence in Vacuo."

"That will happen no matter what happens," Emmeline told her. "Because, at the end of the day, the kingdom isn't going to have a peaceful transfer of power. See, Oz?"

Ozpin sighed. "I knew there wasn't going to be true peace even without Salem –"

"That's because the world is horrible," Emmeline said, clear cynicism lacing her voice. "And it can't be forced to care about anything. Peace isn't possible, not without destroying freedom."

"That's bleak," Ozpin replied. "But, nonetheless, true."

"We've always had a fragile grasp on peace," Emmeline glanced out the window at the heavy rain as it continued to fall. "And there's nothing that can change that. We will fight in every fight, every war that comes our way. For better or for worse, we will not stop until we feel safe."

Emmett gave her a loving squeeze. "It'll be okay."

"I wish I could believe that," She said quietly. "But I can't help but worry that we're always going to be running away from something."

"That's not going to happen," Emmett kissed her cheek softly. "I promise, Emmy."

Cristal set her wine down, adjusting her glasses as she did so.

"It doesn't feel much different," She finally said. "I thought it would, but I just feel like nothing has changed, not really."

"I hate saying it, but I feel the same way," Ozpin said, stroking her hair in an attempt to comfort her. "And I don't want anything else to happen yet can't let go of the feeling that something might."

"I know…" She murmured as she curled into him. "I wish it weren't that way."

"We all do," Emmeline said, pausing upon Ella stepping into the room. "You okay?"

"I was just looking for something," She said, grabbing a pair of earbuds. "I'm fine."

Silence held over them until she was gone.

"What was all of this even for?" Emmeline said softly. "If nothing is really going to change? Was this really justice…or was this just our way of getting revenge for the people we've lost?"

* * *

"And the jury?" The judge sent the international group a sharp look. "Has a consensus been reached?"

Varna stared at her hands, fidgeting with her ring.

"Please state your consensus," The judge said, her authority seeping through. "At this time, please."

One of the jurors from Vacuo stood up, and the others stared at him in anticipation.

"Guilty," He said, and the others murmured in agreement. "Rosalinde Diana Varna is fully and willingly guilty of all of the crimes she has been brought to the stand for."

Varna looked up, her violet eyes flaring but with the slightest bit of fear behind them.

"We cannot justify retaining Varna in Atlas," The judge said, and murmurs began across the room again. "But we will send her back to Vacuo to be held by the parliament in maximum security prison for the rest of her life."

Varna turned towards the judge and stared at the woman in horror. "You can't do that!"

"We will escort her to be held," A few members of the Vacuoian national guard stepped into the room, their leader being the one who had spoken. She was a small woman, no taller than 4'10'', but she was young and held herself tightly. "If you're willing to let us take her."

Varna's eyes went wide upon seeing one of the women in the group. "Alice?"

"You've earned your fate," She snapped. "You may not be guilty of the heinous crimes this court claims you are, but you were never a mother to me. Everything I've ever done has been to try and please you, and it's never been enough. You're no mother, you're only after power."

Varna scowled. "You don't really think that, do you?"

"Yes, I do," Alice said, her eyes narrow and her lips set in a thin line. "Take her away."

Varna stared at her daughter as they all stepped out of the courtroom and the judge smacked down her gavel, closing the trial.

"I was mistreated, you know," Alice said, clasping her hands haughtily behind her back as they walked out of the offices of the Atlesian Council and to the transport to Vacuo. "And completely and utterly cheated out of the life I deserved."

"Really?" Varna scoffed. "You're completely out of your mind."

"I used to stay up all night nursing emotional wounds," She informed her. "Dad was a jerk, and you clearly never knew the gift you got the day I was born."

"I'm sorry about your life," Varna said, a tinge of bitterness to her voice. "And I know you've had it pretty rough, but that does not give you the right to bitch about every little thing."

"You have absolutely no idea what things have been like for me!" Alice shook her head. "I've been bending over backwards, and it's never enough!"

"You poor thing," Varna said dryly. "It must be horrible to be you, isn't it?"

Alice twitched in anger.

"Well?" Varna raised an eyebrow. "Say something!"

Alice narrowed her eyes. "It takes more than I have, it all does, and have you any idea what that is like? It is no way to live, not for anyone, and especially not for someone as young as me."

"I get it," Varna told her silkily. "Give me a bit of credit."

Alice rolled her eyes. "And why should I do that?"

"Because," She said simply. "I can remember when I was as pathetic as you are now."

Alice tensed. "You do?"

"Of course I do," Varna shook her head. "I would wear my scars on my sleeve for the entire world to see when I was trying to take down Fae Kyra, and even now. I've done it my entire life, but I've realized that it's ineffective."

"The last thing I am is pathetic."

"You are extremely pathetic."

"Do tell."

"With pleasure," Varna sighed. "You know what it's like, don't you?"

"That was my point," Alice said darkly. "Obviously."

Varna was silent for a moment but then laughed dryly. "You probably have the right to feel how you do, as I did. After all, I did force people to look what they did to me so that I would gain sympathy and power."

Alice shook her head as they boarded the transport. "That's disgusting."

"You've done the same."

"Of course I haven't!"

"Deny it as you will."

"You are absolutely –"

"Oh, dear, you aren't really going to –"

"You're absolutely –"

"Listen to me," Varna snapped. "You are never going to succeed in anything that you try if you are so damn convinced that you are defeated! Whether or not you were cheated, or mistreated, or whatever it is that you want to call it, you did not lose anything you didn't give up willingly. You are so obsessed with your past, and that makes you destined to repeat it."

"I hate you." Alice said, her voice low.

"I know," Varna replied. "You always have, no matter how much you've tried to please or impress me. I just hope that you know that the only person you have to blame for any of this is yourself."

"I am not at fault for anything," Alice said, nodding shortly as the others began the ascent in their flight to Vacuo. "You are. You were supposed to be my mother, and you were nothing. Not to me."

"I'll never understand you."

"And I'll never understand you."

"Are you afraid of me?"

"Of course I'm not. If I were, I wouldn't have the balls to be involved in the detainment of my own mother in our own kingdom when she is, technically, the prime minister."

"You have no idea what kind of sacrifices I've made for you."

"I don't want to hear it."

"You're one of the most selfish people alive. You take whatever it is you want, without any care for what the rest of us may need."

"You are completely evil. Not to your own people per se, but to your family."

"Do you even understand what that word means?"

"Enough to be able to deny you and dad as my parents. He was more of a parent than you, though, for all of his faults."

"He was a coward."

"He loved you."

"I know," Varna sighed heavily. "And I loved him."

Alice scowled as she reached for her bag. "No, you didn't. You wouldn't have all but abandoned him if you had."

Varna stepped over towards the window, wrapping her hands tightly around the railing and glaring at the aura cuff on her wrist.

"What do you really want, Alice?" She asked her. "What is it you want me to say? What is it you want from anyone?"

"Doesn't matter," Alice replied shortly, reaching for something in her bag and stepping over towards her. "You won't care."

Varna stared out the window of the transport as the kingdom of Atlas slowly left sight.

"Sometimes…" She murmured. "I wonder what's out there, waiting for any of us."

Alice snorted as she pulled out a gun. "You're never going to know."

With not even a twinge of rue, she shot her mother clean through, and Rosalinde Diana Varna fell to the ground in a pool of her own blood; dead.


	117. Chapter 117

_**June 21st  
**_ _ **Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council  
**_ _ **Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action  
**_ _ **Atlesian National Security Council  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **Security Level: Maximum  
**_ _ **Necessary Security Clearance: High to Maximum  
**_ _ **6:19 PM**_

"This is an absolute disaster," Elizabeth said, pacing as she addressed the security council. "And we thought that we had heard the last of this, just about."

"You didn't honestly believe that, did you?" Kiara questioned. "We pushed back against sending her to Vacuo, but –"

"I am not blaming you for the decision," Elizabeth said sharply. "I am, however, annoyed with the situation and know that we can't do nothing."

"That could be dangerous," Ronnie countered. "We can't just go in and assassinate the girl. Doing things this way was to save face and to play international politics."

"And I understand that," Elizabeth replied. "But that does not negate the fact that we cannot let this lie. She is destroying an already broken nation –"

"She's only been there for two days," Emmeline reminded her. "Although I agree that it's a terrible situation for us to be in."

"That may be an understatement," Elizabeth said dryly. "Case in point."

She placed her scroll on the projector and pressed play on a video from Vacuo.

" _I know that I am young!" Alice declared. "But my mother was weak, and she wasn't fighting for you. She was fighting for only herself and more power! I will bring this kingdom back to prosperity, I will be the one who will restore Vacuo to its former glory! We will not bow to Mistral or Vale, let alone Atlas! This is the new dawn, and we will succeed!"_

 _Cheers rippled fanatically throughout the crowd although the people were unsettled._

" _I am calling a new election for all of our parliament!" Alice said, holding up an official order. "And I want people who will support me in my goals!"_

" _You're just like her!" A young legislator stepped out from within the complex of the Vacuoian Council. "And you haven't become the prime minister yet. I am going to challenge you."_

 _Alice raised an eyebrow and the crowd went silent with some slurs being shouted towards the other woman._

" _You?" She said. "You're going to challenge me?"_

 _The legislator pursed her lips and nodded. "Yes."_

There was silent amongst the security council for a moment.

"Should we support her challenger?" Karissa hesitantly said. "Because, if we don't, Alice will likely be able to continue her mother's tyranny, but, if we do, we would be meddling in the democratic processes of another nation."

Elizabeth sighed. "That is not something I am particularly keen to get involved in."

"Do we have much of a choice?" Kiara sent her a pointed look. "I don't like the idea of meddling in the democratic processes of another kingdom either, but is this what is necessary to preserve democracy in Vacuo?"

"Are we really preserving democracy if we're taking away their choice to elect a dictator?" Ronnie countered. "It would be a disaster if Alice Varna overtook the nation, but are we sacrificing everything we fight for by getting involved?"

"We can't assassinate her," James said. "If we did that, it would be too obvious and destroy credibility."

"Agreed," Elizabeth said, picking up her scroll and slipping it back into her pocket. "That is a course of action we cannot afford to take."

"Then what should we do?" Blake asked as he flipped through the woman's file. "Alice Varna is documented as being more than simply dangerous, and she's acted an assassin for hire under her mother's orders on more than one occasion –"

"Yes, we are all very much aware of that," Karissa said tiredly, adjusting her reading glasses. "And we really can't afford for here to gain a lot of international power. It's not in the interest of our country, and it's certainly not in the interest of our people, let alone the people of Vacuo."

"We can't do nothing," Blake said, a slight edge to his voice. "And Alice Varna could damn us all."

"Until things escalate," Karissa said, sending him a sharp look. "We're going to have to leave this to the people of Vacuo to handle."

"What surprises me about all of this is that she killed her mother," Kiara paused for a moment, considering everything. "Varna always came across, to me, as close with her daughter and the two of them as allies."

"She wanted power," Elizabeth said, a cynical edge to her voice. "And that can drive people to do horrible things. Evil isn't born, Kiara, it's made."

Heavy silence held over them.

"Well," James said, glancing to Elizabeth as she continued to pace. "Are we sure that inaction is the best course here?"

"It feels uncomfortably complacent," Emmeline said, sighing heavily. "Which, in and of itself, is siding with Alice Varna in retaining power she's taking for herself to be just as, if not more, crazy than her mother."

"Is that even possible?" Kiara raised an eyebrow. "I'm struggling to see people as crazier than Rosalinde Varna, and she was one of the worst people to ever live."

"She was not as bad as Fae Kyra," James reminded her. "But, yes, she was a danger and evil to her core."

"I do not believe we can let this go," Karissa said with finality. "However, we still have to handle this delicately. I don't want to stay uninvolved, but we have to for the time being."

"The people may take care of this," Emmeline pointed out. "For example, they may very well assassinate her and hold their own elections."

"Or someone just as bad will take power," James countered. "Vacuo has a bloody history regarding totalitarian regimes."

"True," Ronnie said slowly. "But the people of Vacuo have always stood up to protect themselves. Unless she does something that we cannot ignore, we should let it sort itself out. Interfering would only hinder ourselves and it would be destroying what little of their democracy."

"Well," Elizabeth said, turning to address all of them. "I believe that means that we have our answer."

* * *

Alice Rosalie Varna leaned back against the leather seat of the convertible her driver and bodyguard were controlling. She smiled and waved at the crowd from her spot in the backseat and could not help but think about how much she had gained within only a few hours. She was a world leader, and she was only eighteen years old. Her mother, the woman who had destroyed her life, was gone because she was no longer useful or capable of clinging to power. The kingdom of Atlas, she knew, was in turmoil over what to do with her, and she was fully coming into her own. Everything she had once been was gone, and she had full control not only over her own life, but the lives of others. That was something that gave her immense satisfaction.

The people stared as she was driven past in the motorcade, and a few cheered though many in this town looked down with their heads hung. Alice could not help but look down upon them. They seemed weak, they seemed ungrateful, and they had no drive. The whole town was nothing like the capital, her home, and it was so decrepit. It did not look to be much, and there was something about that which annoyed her. She was relieved she had not decided to stop here and, rather, in the next one over which was much more developed. She was going to give a premature victory speech over MP Liana Bloomer, who she did not believe had even a slim chance at winning. People knew full well what her mother had done to her opposition, and that fear, she believed, would give her the victory that she desired.

As her car left the town and began the short journey to the next one where she would give her speech, Alice sipped on a bloody Mary while also taking long draws on a cigarette. She felt powerful, and she felt that she was much better off than her mother had ever been. She looked like a true leader, in her mind, and she was not going to let anything get the best of her. This kingdom was hers to do with as she pleased, and she refused to let anyone tell her any different. If she could kill her own flesh and blood in cold, driven lust for power, then she could do anything. She felt no trace of remorse for what she did to her mother, but she did wish that she had a little bit of guidance. She was filled with nothing but hot, violent anger that had been rising in her for years, but she was unsure of how to change that fact. Nothing seemed to change, and she was going to take control. She was going to break the cycle.

 _Alice watched as her mother haughtily stepped over towards what would be her last view of the outside world although she did not know it yet. Rosalinde Diana Varna, the fallen prime minister of Vacuo, wrapped her hands tightly around the railing and glared at the aura cuff on her wrist; in contrast, Alice was all but praising the cuff for what it was doing because it allowed her to take the power she had desired for so long._

" _What do you really want, Alice?" Rosalinde turned towards her and sent her a pointed look. "What is it you want me to say? What is it you want from anyone?"_

" _Doesn't matter," She replied shortly, reaching for the fully loaded shotgun in her bag and stepping over towards her. "You won't care."_

 _Rosalinde stared out the window of the transport as the kingdom of Atlas slowly left sight; she was completely unaware that this minute was to be her last, that these seconds were the last few of her life._

" _Sometimes…" She murmured, the self-disgust she would never admit to anyone rising in her. "I wonder what's out there, waiting for any of us."_

 _Alice snorted as she raised her gun and aimed it squarely at her mother's head. "You're never going to know."_

 _With not even a twinge of rue, she shot her mother clean through, and Rosalinde Diana Varna fell to the ground in a pool of her own blood; dead and leaving a power vacuum in the kingdom of Vacuo in her wake._

It is funny, how the worst people are always able to justify the most selfish actions they take so that they can keep taking whatever it is that desire.

"My dears," Alice said, a manipulatively sweet edge to her voice as she stepped out of the car and onto the stage where she was to speak and a crowd was already gathered. "I know that things have been difficult, but we are finally moving forward into the future we design. This is ours; this is the world we're going to create, and we are going to focus on our kingdom and restoring it. Mistral and Vale are never going to be able to compete, and Atlas will crumble and fall with humanity at our feet."

"You are giving us the same empty promises that my mother did!" Viana Kyra snapped, stepping up onto the stage herself with a knife hidden in her bra and a gun strapped to her arm under her cloak. "This is the coldest part of the kingdom, the most struggling part of the kingdom despite having the most deposits of Dust than any other place on the planet."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "Viana, you are the daughter of evil incarnate."

"Evil is made," She told her. "We all have choices; we don't have to be our parents, and yet you've made your choice."

Alice stepped towards her imperiously, not noticing as her guard retreated.

"Really?" Alice laughed. "You are so naïve."

Viana shook as she reached for her knife. "I'm going to carry the guilt of this for the rest of my life, but I have to give us the chance to have a genuinely democratic election for prime minister and parliament."

Without giving even a subtle warning, Viana tackled her to the ground and stabbed her hard in the chest and then fired two shots with her gun into her side. Alice's aura, however protected her and she began to thrash even as she bled. She threw a harsh punch into Viana's face, and the prosecutor climbed up onto the platform – dragging Alice with her. The two women continued to throw trashing kicks and punches at each other until Viana noticed a looped rope hanging down nearby. She let herself get beaten closer and closer to it until she was able to grab on. She shot Alice again and kicked her to the ground. Alice attempted to strangle the woman as soon as she forced herself up, but she fell right into the makeshift noose and Viana, praying for deliverance, tightened it as much as she could around Alice's neck even as the woman tried to escape and pushed her off. Within a few seconds, Alice's neck snapped and she hung limp and dead before the crowd.

Sadistic as the woman was, sadistic as her mother had been, and regardless of the guilt Viana felt as she looked at the blood that stained her clothes and skin, cheers rippled loudly throughout the area and, because of the broadcast, throughout the kingdom as the people relished in the prospect of a free election for the first time in their recent history.

* * *

"What are we listening to?" Percival asked as Caitlin continued to drive through the city with him and Luna. "I know you're taking us out so Nattie and Matt don't accidently kill us, but…"

"It's called country music," Caitlin told him, smiling at them through the mirror and then glancing to her wife beside her. "You like it, don't you?"

"I like this song," Cas replied. "But can you please put on something more rock and rolling?"

"After this one," Caitlin said, skipping ahead in her playlist and turning up the volume. "This is one of my favorites."

Luna leaned forward as much as she could. "Are you going to sing?"

"You underestimate her," Percival said, laughing a little. "I mean, come on Lunes."

Luna grinned and started to bop along, then punching her brother playfully in the arm. "Boop!"

"They say in this town the stars stay up all night," Caitlin sang, her high voice blending perfectly on pitch with the recording. "But I don't know, can't see 'em, for the glow of the neon lights. Oh, it's a long way from here to the place where the home fires burn."

"Well," Cas jumped in, albeit rolling her eyes a bit. "It's two thousand miles and one left turn."

"Dear mom and dad: please send money, I'm so broke that it ain't funny," Caitlin went on, glancing into the side view mirrors as she continued to drive down the freeway. "I don't need much, just enough to get me through. Please don't worry because I'm alright.

"See I'm playing here at the bar tonight!" Percival jumped in. "This time I'm gonna make our dreams come true!"

Caitlin laughed a bit as she motioned for her wife to keep going.

"Well I love you more than anything in the world," She said, smiling as she leaned slightly towards her and kissed her cheek. "Love, your baby girl."

"Black top, blue sky; big town full of little white lies," Caitlin sang, raw emotion and power entering her voice. "Everybody's your friend, you can never be sure. They promise fancy cars and diamond rings and all sorts of shiny things. Girl, you'll remember what your knees are for."

"Dear mom and dad, please send money, I'm so broke that it ain't funny," Luna broke in, her pitch perfect as she read the lyrics off of her brother's scroll. "I don't need much: just enough to get me through. Please don't worry because I'm alright. I'm playing here at the bar tonight. This time, I'm gonna make our dreams come true. Well, I love you more than anything in the world. Love, your baby girl."

The instrumental started, and Cas turned to her cousin in surprise. "Luna, you have perfect pitch. You know that, right?"

The seven-year-old looked at her in slight confusion. "Really?"

"That was shockingly good for someone your age," Cas smiled as she awkwardly embraced her cousin as best she could. "Honestly, I'm impressed."

"I know that I'm on my way," Percival sang, interjecting some twang intentionally into his voice as he sang for the bridge. "I can tell every time I play, and I know it's worth all the dues I pay. When I can write to you and say…"

"Dear mom and dad, I'll send money, I'm so rich that it ain't funny," Caitlin smirked as she continued to sing herself. "It ought to be more than enough to get you through. Please don't worry, because I'm alright. I'm staying here at the Ritz tonight. What do you know, we made our dreams come true! And there are fancy cars and diamond rings, but you know that they don't mean a thing. They all add up to nothing compared to you."

"Well, remember me in ribbons and curls," Cas set in. "I still love you more than anything in the world. Love, your baby girl…your baby girl."

"I'm still your baby girl," Luna sang, playing with her dark curls. "Still your baby girl!"

As they continued to drive down the freeway and back into the city of Atlas from further south, a small war was taking place at home. Still bitter about losing to her brother a few days prior, Natalie had begun the paintball fight again. With Spencer and Karissa both coming home late, it was easier for them to focus on fighting each other rather than shooting either of them unexpectedly. Natalie had made the mistake of assuming any noise was Matt on the first day of their paintball war restarting and had shot Karissa in the morning with a paintball that left a nasty stain on her blazer. A fight had ensued between them, and the only reason blood had not been shed, in from Natalie's perspective, was because Luna ran into the room, needing something. Spencer had been annoyed when he had heard what had happened and told them to stop for the sake of preserving everyone's sanity, but Matt and Natalie had decided that their vendetta deserved proper retribution.

"Where are you?" She muttered, adjusting her camouflage suit and safety goggles. "It's time for you to meet your doom."

A paintball shot past her and she turned around quickly, pointing her own paintball gun at the boy in camouflage behind her.

"Well, well, well," Natalie said with a smirk. "Looks like I've found the asshole who needs to meet his doom."

"Meet my doom?" Matt pointed at himself with his gun for a moment and then laughed. "Don't you mean that you're looking to meet your doom?"

"In your dreams," The silver-eyed girl replied. "This world is an ugly place, filled with shit from hell."

"You know I don't believe in hell," Matt shook his head. "You trying to scare me?"

"You bet," Natalie tossed back her hair. "And get my revenge."

"What did I ever do to you?" Matt put his hands up in mock surrender. "I never did anything, if I'm remembering correctly."

"Never did anything?" Natalie scoffed. "You've committed more crimes than anyone I've ever known."

"I'm not a killer," Matt said pleadingly. "You have the wrong man."

"Do I?" Natalie took a step closer to him with her gun poised for the shot. "Or are you trying to manipulate me into letting you live?"

"Is it manipulation when you're innocent?" Matt sighed. "You don't have to live this way."

"I have no choice," Natalie laughed dryly. "Sometimes, your choices aren't your own and you have to make them based on survival."

Matt stepped to be face to face with her, slipping his paintball gun behind his back.

"Then shoot me," He told her. "If I need to die in order for you to live, then I'm willing to make that sacrifice. I'm still your baby brother, after all."

Natalie smirked as she pressed her paintball gun against his chest. "Your choice."

Matt moved faster than her and shot her behind the back with his paintball gun, causing her to shriek.

"I win yet again!" He exclaimed, and Natalie scowled for a moment before grudgingly smacking her hand against his. "See? I told you I'm a skillful actor."

Natalie shrugged. "I'm not bad myself."

"No kidding," Matt said. "I thought you were actually going to kill me."

"I can't do that," She smacked the back of his head and mussed his hair. "You're still my brother."

"True," Matt agreed. "Is this finally over?"

"If we want to not start another Great War?" Natalie laughed. "Yeah, I think our paintball war is over."

Matt grinned. "Well, then, I believe this is our culmination, comrade."


	118. Chapter 118

_**July 3rd  
**_ _ **Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council  
**_ _ **Department Of State  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **Security Level: Maximum  
**_ _ **Necessary Security Clearance: High to Maximum  
**_ _ **8:23 PM**_

"Well," Elizabeth said as she set down the rather large file on her desk and stood up quickly. "That is both an interesting development, and exceedingly graphic."

Ronnie raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think you're understating that? Setting aside the fact that it was on public broadcast over the Vacuoian news networks."

"It did surprise a lot of people here, though," James countered. "At least, with the graphic nature of it."

"In fairness, no one expected Viana to be capable of that either," Elizabeth remarked, stepping in front of and leaning against her desk. "She had always forced herself to be perfectly stoic and as justice-seeking as possible."

"And now she has hung the self-declared prime minister of her kingdom and gone off the map," Ronnie shook his head. "Do you think we'll ever hear from her again?"

"That depends," Elizabeth said, a slight dry edge to her voice. "But I would bet on no."

"She's already stained by her being the child of Fae Kyra," James said as he began to pace. "I imagine that graphically committing a murder doesn't help her case, even with her career strides."

"Frankly, I'm just relieved that there's a chance that we'll have both our interests preserved in Vacuo as well as a chance for a decrease in White Fang activity there," Ronnie glanced through several documents on his scroll for a moment. "Not that we're likely to see an end to our war on terror any time soon."

Elizabeth snorted. "We have no reason to end that; for better or for worse, fighting terrorism protects our interests and, more favorably, it protects our people."

A heavy silence fell over the room, although it was soon broken by another stepping into the room.

"My apologies," Kiara said, straightening herself out. "I didn't realize that you were all in the middle of a meeting."

"No, actually, your input could be quite valuable," Elizabeth said, and Kiara raised an eyebrow. "Regarding Viana Kyra's actions."

"In the trial or in assassinating Alice Varna following her declaration as prime minister?" Kiara questioned. "Or both?"

"Regarding the assassination," Elizabeth replied. "I was wondering what your thoughts were with respect to both her motivation and her execution."

Kiara considered that. "I would say her motivation was mostly what she claimed it was publicly. Of course, there could be a personal vendetta there, but we can safely eliminate a lust for power."

Ronnie sent her a befuddled look as he pushed up his glasses. "Why can we eliminate that?"

"You can't be serious," Kiara said as she crossed her arms. "It's inherently logical. If that had been her goal, she would have declared herself prime minister after the fact."

"To the contrary, in doing such and then disappearing for a few years, she can allow for whomever is elected prime minister to make disastrous mistakes, etc," Ronnie countered. "Following that, she could make a grab for power herself that could or could not have a negative impact on the lives of the people of Vacuo."

"That's unlikely," Kiara said tersely. "Especially considering her lineage."

"More to the point," Elizabeth said sharply, looking to Kiara. "Do you think there was anything behind her claimed motivation?"

"No, I don't," Kiara said. "She was probably upset by the possibility of the kingdom having continued tyranny, scared, paranoid, and acted in violent impulse. It seemed semi-planned, but it did not seem to have much thought behind it. She was playing along in the same games we always, do but she actually acted on the impulse to kill."

"I wouldn't quite call it an impulse," Elizabeth remarked. "She's always been a bit unhinged."

"Which means that her impulses are not the same as that of normal, sane person," Kiara replied. "And, in some, that includes the impulse to kill. Her mother likely instilled that in her, and I'm sure that she's got some form of psychosis. She's always refused to be psychologically tested, which was always concerning."

Elizabeth was silent for a long moment, considering that, but she then nodded shortly. "That makes sense. Thank you, Kiara."

The prosecutor smiled tightly, and quickly left the room.

"Ronnie?" James said, sending the other man a concerned glance. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," He told him. "Perfectly fine."

"Convincing," Elizabeth said dryly, shutting the door and then turning towards them. "What's going on?"

Ronnie sighed. "Look, I'm just worried because Brie's due next week and I don't want anything to happen to her, Ryan, or our daughter."

"Well," Elizabeth said, considering that. "So long as the two of you don't name your daughter after your brother's dead wife, I think your family will be okay."

Ronnie scowled. "That's not helpful, Eliza."

"Look," She said, rubbing her neck. "Have the two of you changed that?"

He nodded. "Jennifer Madeline."

She smiled. "That's cute."

"And it's much better," James murmured to her. "Hopefully the Ciels don't kill each other any time soon."

"We're not going to kill each other," Ronnie told him. "Alright? Our family isn't going to kill each other."

"We were being sarcastic," Elizabeth said, rolling her eyes. "I promise, Ronnie."

He sighed. "Sorry, this is just difficult."

"I know," Elizabeth said gently. "Things are difficult enough as it is. We don't need to make things worse."

"Well, considering how bad things have been, I don't imagine they could get much worse," Ronnie said, beginning to pace. "And I don't want anything to happen to Brie. I love her and our children, and I want my life to get better. There are more important things than our money and status, and they're that."

"Ronnie, calm down," Elizabeth said, sending him a pointed look. "I know things have been difficult, but it's going to get better. I promise."

Silence held over them, and for several minutes it felt like it would not break.

"Sorry," Ronnie said as his scroll started to go off. "Brie? Sweetheart, are you alright?"

"Ronnie…" She said, pausing for a moment while shuffling was heard over the line. "I think I'm in labor."

He was silent for a long moment but then quickly spoke. "I'll be there as soon as I can –"

"Emmeline's taking me to the hospital," She said, swearing briefly before going on. "And then she's taking Ryan to her and Emmett's –"

"I promise I'll be there as soon as I can," He said as he all but ran out of the room. "I promise. I love you."

* * *

"Karissa, I am genuinely concerned about him," Edward said as they continued to hesitate in the doorway to the apartment building in which she lived. "I know that She is gone, but that doesn't change the fact that very little has changed otherwise."

She sighed as the looming, July rain began to fall. "Can we take this inside before we're soaked?"

Edward followed her into an obscure corner of the building's lobby. "I just don't want anything to happen."

"I don't either," She said, forcing herself to keep her voice low. "And I'm worried to, but things have gotten better. A few years ago, he and I were scared that he was at serious risk of death –"

"What about that overdose from back in May?" Edward countered. "That was recent –"

"That was an accident," She reminded him. "He was terrified –"

"Karissa, that accident could have killed him," Edward shook his head. "All of those overdoses have been accidents, and I know that he's gotten better from where he was, but he still could have died and he's still taking those damn pills on a daily basis."

"Slow but steady withdrawal the best way to treat it, proven by psychological research –"

"I know," Edward said, then sighing heavily. "I know."

"Edward, listen," Karissa said tiredly. "We're doing our best, but you of all people have to understand that some things just can't be completely fixed, that not everything gets tied up neatly."

He was silent for a long moment.

"I blame myself for your accident," He finally admitted, adjusting his bowler hat as he glanced around. "If I had ordered more security for everyone, we wouldn't have lost Glynda, we wouldn't have had so many attempts on the lives of legislators, we wouldn't have…we wouldn't have lost anyone."

"Edward, please don't take the blame for something that isn't your fault," She said as calmly as she could muster. "Honestly, there are much more important things to be concerned about, and there's nothing any of us can do about this."

"Even with that being true, it doesn't…" He said. "It can't change feeling."

Karissa chewed at the inside of her cheek for a moment. "I know…" She eventually said, her voice soft.

He looked at her in concern. "Karissa, I'm so sorry about you having lost your –"

"Edward –" She started.

"I know you and Spencer are still struggling with accepting it," He said sympathetically. "But I hope that you two will be able to move forward, because you two deserve better than what you've had."

She was silent for a moment but then shook her head as she adjusted her bag and started towards the elevator. "I want that more than you could even know." She said just as the doors shut and the elevator began its ascent.

Setting aside her exhausted, mixed, and almost overpowering emotions, she pulled off her reading glasses and quickly folded them up and slipped them into the side of her bag. In an attempt at pure reason, she tried to tell herself that she was feeling emotionally unhinged because she had not slept as much as she knew should have in the last several days, and that everything regarding the Council had been tumultuous. It was not the truth, she knew, but it was something she could comfortingly hide behind. She did not want to admit to anyone that she was upset about what had happened, especially because she hadn't known. Spencer knew that she was still upset, and, while he tried to be there even with being upset himself, she hated that even her young daughter knew something was wrong. Her hands shook slightly as she unlocked the door to their condominium and stepped in, although she was quickly tackled by her seven-year-old baby girl.

"Mommy!" Luna exclaimed, wrapping her arms tightly around her mother. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, sweetie," Karissa said, ruffling her daughter's hair. "How was your day?"

"Daddy took me to the mall," Luna told her with a grin. "I got some new clothes!"

Karissa smiled as she lifted her daughter up into her arms. "Sounds like you had fun."

"I did," Luna said. "And daddy said he was waiting for you to come home."

"Of course I was," Spencer said as he stepped into the room from down the hall. "You know how much I love your mother."

Luna nodded. "You and mommy are so cute."

Spencer looked to his wife a bit worriedly. "Are you alright, 'Rissa?"

"I'm fine," She said half-heartedly. "Just exhausted."

He raised an eyebrow as he ran a hand through his long, messy dark hair. "You don't sound very good."

"I just spoke with your father," She told him as she gently set down their daughter, who ran down to her room. "And it was a bit emotional, that's all."

Spencer gently embraced her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"He was just…" She sighed heavily, letting herself lean into him a bit. "He was just trying to see if there was anything he could do to help us move on because he knows that I'm still…that I'm still upset about losing the baby."

"There's nothing wrong with that," He told her, stroking her hair. "I'm upset too, and I know that you've had a lot to deal with lately."

"I'm being ridiculous," She said, her voice quiet. "I'm being ridiculous, and completely selfish."

"No, you're not," Spencer pressed a loving kiss to her forehead. "Karissa, if any of us has been selfish, its been me. I'm not going to argue with you on that, but with my semblance, and with everything, I have been."

There was silence between them for a long moment.

"Even with Her being gone, nothing has really changed," She finally said. "I didn't expect much to, but I thought that maybe it would give us a sense of peace we've never truly had, and maybe I thought it would be what we needed to be able to move on."

"Mommy?" Luna came back, clutching her bunny to her chest and in her pyjamas. "Can you and daddy come tuck me in?"

She nodded and wrapped arm around Spencer as they walked. "Of course, baby."

Luna smiled as she all but hopped into her bed. "I love you, mommy."

Karissa embraced her daughter tightly. "I love you too."

"Are you okay?" Luna looked at her mother in concern. "You look sad."

"Luna, please listen to me," Karissa said, sitting down beside her daughter and squeezing her hand affectionately. "Sometimes things happen that are more…destructive than you think they should be, and that doesn't change or invalidate what you feel. If you ever are upset about anything, I want you to tell me or Spence so we can talk it through with you. I don't want you to suffer alone."

Luna nodded, although she glanced to her father in slight confusion. "Is –"

"And that's true for both of us too," Spencer said as he joined his wife and rested his head on her shoulder. "It's not just her and her siblings, 'Rissa."

Karissa hesitated, running a hand through her azure curls.

"Lunes," She said softly, tightly embracing her daughter again. "Please don't blame yourself when something horrible happens in your life because…because none of us have any control over who lives or who dies. We've lost enough people as it is, and we still haven't the control over things that we think we do or desire to have. I promise, when you're older, I'll explain more, but I want you to be better off than us."

"We both do," Spencer said, then softly kissing her cheek. "But that doesn't mean I don't love you. I still love the careless man's careful daughter, and I'm always going to."

Karissa smiled and let him hold her for a moment before turning back to their daughter.

"Luna," She said gently. "Can you promise me something?"

Luna nodded. "Of course."

"Don't dream of glory or bury yourself in having some sort of grand legacy," She sighed heavily as her daughter curled into her. "Because that's been more than destructive for all of us…"

* * *

"Seems to me like Ronnie and Brianna are finally going to have things worked out," Emmett remarked as he sipped on a glass of wine. "At least, considering that they're going to have a crying baby to take care of."

"Yes, because being sleep-deprived after caring for your child is a great –" Cristal scowled at Allison, who elbowed her sharply. "What the hell was that for?"

"Being sarcastic," Allison told her. "Which you are too frequently."

"Sorry that I don't believe in everything," She said dryly. "Happy endings aren't real, in case you hadn't noticed."

"Sure," Allison said with a shrug. "That doesn't mean we can't be relieved that so many problems aren't problems anymore. We managed to track down and arrest my father a few days ago."

"And Salem's dead," Blake added. "Anything else?"

"Well…" Cristal said, a semi sadistic, cynical edge entering her voice. "Rosalinde and Alice Varna are dead, Mark and Irabella Carrington have been stripped of any power they may have had and are in jail awaiting trial. Cinder's been remarkably cooperative with the Council and seems to be willing to do anything that is asked of her so she can have a nicer life in maximum security federal prison."

"To be fair, she's not with anyone violent," Blake reminded her. "Cinder ended up in the same prison with non-violent, white collar business offenders. Actually, she's in the same prison as Jacques."

Cristal started laughing in spite of herself. "Ha, the two of them can have a party."

"I wouldn't want to see that," Ozpin said as he pulled her in close and she curled tightly into him. "All things considered."

"When Jacques is released next week on parole, I really hope he doesn't try and have a non-professional conversation with Caitlin Morell-Ciel," Emmett said, and Allison smirked. "Since she's had more than a few scathing words for him over the years."

"That's an understatement," Allison said. "She hates few people more than she hates him."

"He deserves it," Cristal said, nonchalantly adjusting her glasses. "He's never been anything but a dick, after all."

"Oh, we all think that," Emmett said, shrugging. "Life's a bitch isn't it?"

"And yet we're still here," Allison sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if the price we paid was worth it."

"It was," Cristal said resolutely. "We may not be able to change what happened to some of the people we've lost, but we've done everything in our power to protect the world. Wasn't that the goal?"

"It was," Ozpin hesitated. "But I do have guilt about what has happened, and it's still my fault."

"That's not true," Emmett said, smiling upon Emmeline stepping into the room with Ryan. "You drive fast."

"I'm a good driver, and Ronnie was there shortly after," She replied. "Ryan, the girls are upstairs if you want to play video games with them."

There was silence for a moment, waiting for him to be out of earshot.

"Alright," Emmeline said upon hearing the door slam upstairs. "Setting aside my family, I want to talk about someone in yours that is still driving me crazy."

"If you're talking about our mother, we know," Cristal told her, a slightly bitter edge in her voice. "She's kind of known for that."

"She's apparently invited herself and a 'plus one' to the midsummer ball for the higherups, their family members, and important Atlesians, etc," Emmeline shook her head as she sat down beside her husband. "Can I have some of that?"

Emmett handed her the wine glass. "Sounds like you need it."

"That's truer than you might think," Emmeline said as she took a long sip of the wine. "This is going to be a shitshow even more so than the last one."

"That's not strictly true," Cristal said, albeit only half-heartedly. "Maybe my mother won't be a complete shrew."

"Because our mother is good at not being a shrew," Emmett said dryly. "That makes sense."

"Well, at least she's the only demon we have to really be concerned about at this point," Emmeline remarked. "In our personal lives, at any rate."

"See," Allison said with a slightly triumphant smile. "Things do get better."

"It's hard to get much worse than where we've been," Ozpin said, although he paused in thought. "But we're going to be alright, I hope."

"We all do," Cristal said. "And maybe we'll be right, for once."

"We've been right more than once," Emmett protested. "We're right all the time."

"That's different," Emmeline countered. "Besides the point is that everything about us is tied to power and access to information that others just don't have. No matter what happens, we're never going to be able to lead truly normal lives. Not with who we are, and certainly not with all this."

Ozpin sighed. "Thus is the price of war, is it not?"


	119. Chapter 119

_**Author's Note:**_ **Any ideas for a new RWBY story?** _ **Next chapter is the epilogue.  
**_

* * *

 _ **July 20th  
**_ _ **Schnee Dust Company  
**_ _ **Ballroom  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **8:23 PM**_

"First off," Cristal said, pushing up her glasses as she stepped up onto the small platform in the ballroom. "I just wanted to say that I'm so glad that as many of you attended as you did, especially since this is one of the few times in the year we actually get to celebrate anything."

Laughter ensued, and she smiled as she went on.

"And, thankfully, there hasn't been any screaming this time," She went on. "It's also a rare occasion that we have a more realistic hope for any semblance of peace."

"Agreed," Emmett said, laughing upon her elbowing him playfully. "Sorry, sis, continue your speech."

"Thank you, Emmett," Cristal said, sharing a look with Ozpin as she went on. "You see, in the last few years, we've found ourselves in turmoil. This kingdom has seen the price of war, and we've seen too many people lose their lives when they never should have."

A tense silence fell over the room.

"It wasn't just the Council that made mistakes, and that is something I want everyone to understand," Cristal paused for a moment, biting at her lip. "A million years ago, we would have stood by, but we cannot let ourselves be blinded to the truth. We choose our own narratives to believe in because we can't swallow the truth. All of us have to sacrifice something, whether or not we want to."

Some assent was heard as she passed the microphone to Emmett.

"There is a reason that hope can be blinding," He said with a cautious edge to his voice. "And we all know the consequences of being too secure. At the end of the day, it remains that what is on a person's face isn't always what's in their heart. Still, we have a chance to be happy, to be hopeful, and, tonight, we can celebrate that."

Cheers followed as they stepped off the stage and set the microphone back onto the stand and stepped into the crowd.

"That was great," Emmett remarked to his sister, who rolled her eyes as she began to sip on a glass of wine. "I am going to assume that you're tired."

"Of course I am," She replied. "You know how overstimulating these things can be."

"Cas and Caitlin are going to be here soon," Emmeline glanced up from her scroll and smiled upon Emmett pulling her in tightly and kissing her cheek. "Emmett!"

"I love you," He murmured. "Honestly."

"I know," She said, half-laughing in spite of herself. "And I love you too."

"Is mom here yet?" Cristal asked. "Or is she not going to show herself?"

"She will," Emmett said dryly. "She always does."

"Victoria isn't that bad," Ozpin said. "She has her flaws, but she's not always horrible."

"I spent years trying to accommodate her in my life," Emmeline reminded him. "She really is that horrible."

"And you mean that she wasn't always that horrible," Emmett added. "She and I don't really get along."

"None of us really get along with your mother," Elizabeth sighed. "But, I suppose, we could be worse off."

"Maybe," Cristal said. "Maybe."

"Well," Jacques said as he stepped into the room and near the group with a smirk. "This is such a wonderful surprise."

Karissa narrowed her eyes. "That doesn't sound right."

"Edward," Jacques said, raising his voice enough to draw attention from the rest of the ballroom. "Congratulations on this."

Edward's brow furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Over the course of a few years nearly two decades ago, you shifted nearly a million lien between two private accounts," Jacques announced, and murmurs began to rise in the room. "Care to explain, President Ciel?"

Edward stared at Jacques for a long moment. "You have not even the first clue what it is that you are asking me to confess."

Jacques raised an eyebrow. "So, you admit that you broke the law?"

"No, and I can prove that I never did so," Edward said, stepping over to the taller man with a scowl whilst adjusting his bowler hat. "What you're talking about was just under sixteen years ago, and –"

"Explain why, as a senator, you decided to create a secret bank account that hasn't been used in years?" Jacques scoffed. "You were embezzling government funds so that you could have the money to launder support so that you could become president. You love power more than Ronnie does."

Ronnie took in a sharp breath, and he could not release his tension even as Brianna placed a hand on his shoulder and held their newborn daughter in her free arm.

"I never broke the law, and I have never embezzled government funds," Edward said, pausing for a moment and then sighing. "Nor did I aid Arianna in doing anything illegal."

"Arianna?" Spencer stared at his father in shock. "What are you talking about?"

"Percival is sixteen, almost seventeen, now, but he was diagnosed with leukemia around this time fifteen years ago," Edward said, and Spencer nodded weakly. "You and Arianna were stressed by that, but you were also angry at each other because of she kept wanting to involve the rest of the family so that she could retain her lifestyle while also treating Percival."

"I remember that," Spencer said, his voice shaking even as Karissa wrapped an around him and gently rubbed his back. "But I still don't understand what you're trying to get at. You did end up help us with paying for his treatment alongside Emmeline."

"I had, and still have, more than enough money, hence why I covered almost all of his treatment," Emmeline and Emmett shared a long look before she looked to her father in confusion. "I'm just as lost as Spence is, regarding this."

"If this is going to be addressed, I'm going to make clear that I never spent even a cent that was not mine," Edward said, and a heavy silence fell over the ballroom. "I have never done anything that was against the law, and I can prove that I never broke the law with respect to this matter."

Jacques laughed dryly. "I would love to see you, President Ciel, try and convince the people that never embezzled government funds for financial gain for yourself and your favorite daughter-in-law."

"That is the complete opposite of what I did," Edward replied. "Furthermore, you have nothing against me and, technically, I do not have to tell you anything because the truth can be found if anyone wants to go through the entirety of my tax returns from the last twenty years."

Jacques raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"It is," Edward said shortly. "But I am going to be honest with everyone directly because, in my position, that is what is required of me. I am not, at the moment, a private citizen and, when this happened, I was not. I was a senator at the time, and I am the president now. I will make clear right now what actually happened."

"No, you won't," Jacques rolled his eyes. "I hope you saved some of your own money for your daughter and sons because your career is over at this moment and not one sooner or later."

"I did open a private bank account in which I moved about a third of my fortune, the majority of which was inheritance from my father," Edward began to pace as he addressed all of them and the media focused on every word as the news began to break throughout the kingdom. "And, over the course of three years, I did give Arianna nearly a million lien."

"President Ciel, stop equivocating," Jacques snapped. "Why? Why did you –"

"Arianna came to me and told me that she knew Emmeline was going to cover the majority of Percival's treatment," Edward said slowly. "However, she wanted me to cover the rest so that I could also give her money for her personal usage without causing her and Spencer to need to file for bankruptcy."

" _Edward, please," Arianna said, fluffing out her mink coat. "You know how much I've gained in just the last few years, and I can't stand the idea of losing it. I love my son, of course, and that's why I'm making Emmeline pay for it. She has a mounting fortune from what she got from Emmett Schnee in the will. Don't you understand? While all of us only make between a hundred thousand lien and five hundred thousand lien, she has a couple of million dollars lying around in her account alongside her savings, etc. She has no problem paying for things like this, but we don't have the money because the rest of us have normal expenses and personal ones and savings. Spence has never really approved of how much I spend on myself, but you understand it, don't you?"_

 _Edward sent her a disdainful look. "You care more about yourself than your own son who may very well die?"_

" _I hate the thought of that," She snapped, although her voice started to break. "I really do, and I care about him but I know the chance of losing him is high and I need something to bury myself in because I need to not only take care of my children, but my husband because of those damn pills he's addicted to!"_

" _Arianna," Edward said with trepidation. "I know that you have a lot to deal with, but this is horrible even with that in mind."_

" _It isn't illegal," She countered, and he took in a sharp breath. "And, this way, every single one of us wins. No one ends up with their name being sullied, no one gets hurt, and I get what I want without upsetting my husband. You know how fragile Spencer is right now."_

 _Edward was silent for a long moment._

" _If I direct money for your personal use to your private account until things are in a better place," He said finally, sending her a sharp look. "Then I need you to swear to never tell another soul about this because, legal or not, it is going to tear the family apart."_

 _Arianna nodded shortly, a thin smile rising on her lips. "I promise."_

"I did what I thought I needed to in order to keep my family safe," Edward finished, and murmurs started to rise in the crowd. "But, I'll repeat, there is public evidence of this, and I never embezzled government funds or spent even a cent of lien that was not mine. I kept this quiet in order to prevent upset in my family, but that was not right, not in the end."

Percival stared at him and then shook his head. "Arianna would never have been that selfish…she wouldn't have."

"Percival, I wish I could tell you differently, but I can't," Edward sighed heavily and forced himself to meet his youngest son and his daughter-in-law's gaze. "Spencer, I know that I should have been more forthright after the fact, but, at the time, it seemed best to keep this a secret so you and Arianna could have a better chance at working through their trouble and focus on helping Percival survive leukemia, especially since he was a baby at the time. I should have said something, but I could not bring myself to after Arianna died. When you and Karissa married, I was certain I would never have to admit to this. I'm sorry, and I take full responsibility for this."

"She cared about her…herself more than me?" Percival looked as if he were going to cry. "No –"

"That can't be true!" Natalie exclaimed in horror. "Mom would never have asked you for money so that she could get new furs, or jewelry, or –"

"An analysis of Arianna's spending through her personal account, with the money that I gave her, was entirely for those things," Edward said, a tinge of rue in his voice as he turned towards the crowd and took the microphone. "And others. I repeat: I did directly help pay for my grandson's treatment on top of the money my son had for the purpose, as well as the money my daughter put in to help. That can be seen in my tax returns from those years."

The ballroom fell silent as Jacques stepped forward to address Edward again.

"Well," He said dryly. "It seems that you were able to clear your name. I never imagined that. You must understand how everything looks."

"Yes, I do," Edward replied shortly. "But what I have just said is the truth."

"Regardless," Jacques said, looking to Ronnie. "I believe our kingdom's secretary of state has some things that he needs to answer for."

Ronnie raised an eyebrow, nervously adjusted his glasses, and ran a hand through his curls. "I beg your pardon?"

"You know exactly what I'm referring to," Jacques said dryly, shifting his gaze to Kiara Davis. "You do too."

Kiara straightened herself out, her arms crossed. "What exactly are you referring to? Have you not spent the last decade in federal prison for committing financial, business, and domestic crimes?"

"Yes, you were involved in that, weren't you," Jacques said, venom lacing his voice. "But you are forgetting that I have still been able to keep up with the news and, with Victoria's help, I've managed to piece everything I've missed together."

Ronnie stepped towards the man angrily. "Excuse me?"

"Let me be clear," Jacques said, turning to the crowd. "Ronnie Ciel has never honestly admitted as to why there was a paper trail involved in his affair with Kiara Davis. Don't any of you realize that he stepped over the law to protect his wife, and then had an affair with Kiara Davis so she would destroy any evidence against him. That's why there is no evidence, and that is why no one can prosecute either of them, and never will be able to. He has completely destroyed his own life, and for what? Charges that were never going to be pressed against his wife?"

"That's not fair," Kiara Davis stepped forward, despite protest. "What you're talking about is entirely my fault."

"Is it?" Jacques laughed. "No, you only received something you wanted and then did something as a favor."

"There is a paper trail for that because Madame Davis and I exchanged letters," Ronnie said, his voice shaking. "I regret what I did more than anything else, because I love my wife so damn much and there had to have been a better way to protect her than to have an affair."

"That's not even a good explanation of it," Jacques snorted. "What you did with Kiara Davis was a torrid affair."

"Why are you dredging this back up?" Ronnie snapped. "Everyone has been trying to move forward and make things better since then, and –"

"Because you are planning to run for president next year when we hold elections," Jacques said with a sickening grin. "Your father cannot run, and I know you always wanted the kind of power he's had. You've followed in his footsteps, and yet you're not him. You're never going to be as good as him."

Ronnie flinched. "I am trying to make up for the mistakes I have made, and I am doing everything I can to do what is right."

"Do what is right?" Jacques raised an eyebrow. "That's quite a joke."

"No, it's not," Ronnie shook his head. "I have made mistakes, but I never broke the law and, while I am ashamed of what I did as I should be, I have never done anything that ought to provoke legal action."

"Ronnie is correct," Elizabeth Morell said, sending Jacques a look of extreme disdain. "I hope that the answers you've received are satisfactory."

"Elizabeth Morell, you are one of the most self-righteous human beings alive," Jacques said, his eyes narrowing as James wrapped an arm tightly around her. "James too."

"You are doing nothing but destroying everything that we have worked to build," Emmeline said, scowling at Jacques. "You are an awful person, and you have always been –"

"What the hell is your problem?" Brianna demanded, stepping forward with her newborn daughter sleeping in her arms and Ryan clutching onto her free hand. "You aren't trying to be honest; you're trying to destroy everything that this family has –"

"Oh, Brianna, I can't blame you if you're angry," Jacques said with false sympathy in his voice. "After all, your husband did cheat on you in your own home. I hope you understand that –"

"No," She said, her voice deadly. "We've all been through enough. Do you need to bring hell back down over any of us?"

"Whether I do or don't is immaterial," Jacques said with a condescending edge to his voice as he turned to Ronnie. "You're never going to be president now, and that's one less thing to worry about for me and, I imagine, a lot of people."

"Listen to me, Jacques," Karissa said, her heels clicking dangerously as she addressed him. "We have all ruined our own lives enough; none of us need you to make things worse than they already have been."

"Be that as it may, there's one more thing I'd like to add," Jacques said, turning towards Emmett who tensed and pulled Emmeline close to him. "And it's that Emmett isn't clean either."

"I'd love to know what you think you do," He said dryly. "Considering that I've never known you to be particularly well-informed."

Jacques pulled out a long list of monetary transfers, smirking upon Casseia and Caitlin Ciel stepping into the room.

"Miss Casseia Ciel," Jacques said slowly but with his smirk retained. "Care to explain why you've been funneling two hundred thousand lien to Devon Davis for the last two years from the SDC? Or why your father has been helping you?"

Cas swallowed hard. "Because I had no choice, not without being under threat because he was going to destroy my career if I didn't give him the money he wanted."

"Caitlin," Devon said, stepping towards her as she crossed her arms. "You have to understand –"

"I'm not here for you," She said shortly, then sighing heavily. "And I never was going to be."

He stared at her. "Caitlin –"

"No, listen to me," She scowled as she went on. "I know Cas better than I know almost anyone else, and you will never find anyone in this world who is as trusting or kind as she is…until provocation. I'm not like that, and I can never truly satisfied by anything but I love my wife more than anything else in this life and I will choose her happiness over mine every single time. I cannot believe what you did. Any of it. Nothing, nothing anyone can say or do will be able to wipe the tears or the years away."

"You don't understand," He said, his voice low. "I needed the money for personal reasons, and I know you and I could have –"

"Put what we had aside," Caitlin snapped. "I'm standing by her side, and, god, I hope you're satisfied."

Silence held over the room for a long moment until he left the room without another word.

"And you," Caitlin turned to Jacques with her eyes only narrowing further. "I have no idea what you think you gain by any of this, but you don't deserve anything but reprehension. You are a horrible, disgusting person –"

"That might be a little harsh," Victoria said, sending her a disdainful look. "You're not that great a person, either, Dr. Ciel."

"Allow me to handle this," Jacques stepped to be eye to eye with Caitlin. "You know what your family has done and continues to do with its power. You're not a good person by any stretch of the imagination, and I hope you understand that."

She scoffed. "And yet you've spent nearly a decade in prison on multiple convictions of criminal actions or intent."

Jacques slapped her hard across the face, activating her aura.

"You insatiable –" He began.

Although she had attempted to merely push him, the powers she had as a sorceress activated in her anger and slammed him into a glass table nearby with a large vase filled with flowers on it. The table collapsed under his weight, but the shock of her heel slipping and causing her to all but tackle him could have had the same effect. Angrily, she pushed herself up and began to dust off her pants, blazer, and blouse. Jacques glowered at her as he managed to stand up himself, and he walked over towards her, looking ready destroy her. His fists clenched, and, faster than she could stop him, he punched her with enough force to snap her glasses. She activated her magic to fix them, and then smacked him back with more force; enough so that his right eye was bruised.

"Don't ever try that again," She said, shaking her head. "You have never been anything but an awful human being that will do whatever it takes for him to get ahead. You're no hero, if that's what you think you are."

"I have brought forward what was being hidden for self-gain," Jacques retorted. "And all that the Ciels have done is drag their name and the Schnee name through the mud for the sake of personal gain. If you all can't bring that forth like you damn right should, then other people will. This is what the world needs to know."

"No," She said with a harsh scowl. "None of us have ever broken the law, or destroyed lives that weren't our own, or anything of that manner. There are shades of grey in this world, but you don't fall into them. No one is truly selfless, but, some of us, are truly selfish and you, more than most, are the latter. I hate to admit it, but the majority of us are more selfish than we are not because that's the dark side of the human heart."


	120. Chapter 120

_**November 29th  
**_ _ **City Of Atlas  
**_ _ **Atlas  
**_ _ **Downtown  
**_ _ **5:53 PM**_

"Listen, Matt," Natalie said with a smirk. "You're never going to defeat me. Give up now."

Matt scowled at her for a moment and then looked to Percival. "Should I give up?"

Percival tugged down the sleeves of his undershirt, adjusted the collar of his t-shirt over that, and then awkwardly opened a physics textbook.

"How about this?" Percival said, looking to his brother pointedly. "You admit that you, like me, are akin to Gallus Gallus Domesticus."

Matt groaned. "I'm not a coward!"

"In fairness, you're scared of everything," Spencer remarked, and Matt sighed heavily and set down his miniature paintball gun. "I'm sorry, Matt, but that's just who you are."

"Daddy!" Luna exclaimed as she ran into the room with Karissa following behind her. "Mommy did my hair! See?"

Spencer smiled. "It looks pretty."

"It's not the same as her blue hair," Luna said, then shrugging. "But it's still cool."

"I'm not dying your hair," Karissa told her, resisting the urge to laugh. "You're still too young."

"If I ever dye my hair, I'm going to make it look blood splattered," Natalie said, and the rest of them either flinched or sent her confused looks. "Don't be like that. It'd be awesome."

"I strongly disagree," Spencer said as he wrapped an arm loosely around Karissa. "But you're also an adult, so I can't really tell you what to do anymore."

"Hey, just be glad you never had to bail me out of jail," Natalie said, and he grimaced. "What?"

"I almost did, one time," Spencer reminded her. "And you should never argue with a cop by telling them what you were doing is 'what makes this country great'."

"At the time, I thought that was a coherent argument," Natalie said, all but collapsing dramatically into the couch. "Sorry, but I was fifteen, and fifteen-year-olds do a lot of stupid things."

Matt discreetly picked up his paintball gun and shot her in the forehead, causing her to start swearing loudly.

"I win," Matt said with a grin. "And, unlike last time, we were all in the room when it happened."

Natalie flipped him off. "Fuck you."

"There are a lot of people that would love to do that to me," Matt replied, causing her to shudder at the thought. "What?"

"How about we don't hear about that?" Karissa suggested, sending him a pointed look. "I don't need to be more disgusted than I already am at that thought."

Percival nodded fervently in agreement. "Please?"

"Ugh, fine," Matt said, climbing up onto the counter. "And it's probably not okay in front of Luna."

"I don't care," Luna said as Spencer picked her up and she messed up his already messy, shoulder-length dark waves. "But I think mommy and daddy do."

"We're all alive, for now," Spencer said, swiftly kissing Karissa and then giving her a gentle squeeze. "And that's enough."

"Maybe that's what we were always missing," Karissa said, resting her head on his shoulder. "Maybe we just never were completely able to comprehend that this is enough, no matter what else could be brought down on us in another perfect storm…"

* * *

"Jenni…" Brianna laughed as her baby girl reached to grab her long, pearl necklace. "Do you want that?"

The little girl stared at her mother with wide eyes.

"Alright," She said, throwing some of her long, white-blonde hair over to the left as she pulled off her necklace and set it down in front of her daughter. "You can play with that if you want."

"Come on, Jenni," Ryan said as his baby sister grabbed his finger. "Not my finger. My finger isn't a toy."

Jenni paused for a moment but then grabbed her mother's necklace and strung it over her head and started playing with it.

"Brie?" Ronnie smiled as he stepped into the room and saw his wife and children. "Sorry I'm late."

"I know your meetings ran late," She said, standing up and letting him embrace her tightly. "Something happen, Ronnie?"

"I just want to be affectionate, that's all," He said, kissing her cheek. "I'm trying to be better, you know, as both your husband and as the father of our two babies."

"Hey!" Ryan protested. "I'm not the baby, Jenni is!"

"Ryan," Brianna said, looking to her son in amusement. "Believe me when I say that you're always going to be a baby to me and your father."

He sighed. "Okay."

"So," Ronnie said as he sat down beside Brianna on the couch. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," She said. "Honestly, Ronnie, I am."

He hesitated but then nodded. "Alright."

"Ronnie, I'm just glad that things are finally getting better," She said, lowering her voice as she watched their son play with his baby sister. "A year ago, I…I thought you'd ruined not only your own life but mine and our children's lives too."

He sighed heavily. "I've made more mistakes than I should have been forgiven for, and I know it was difficult, back in July, having everything dredged back up."

"Listen to me, Ronnie," Brianna said, taking his hands in hers. "In all of the years that I've known you, even before we were dating, and long before we were married, I have seen you be terrified of what your enemies could do to you whether it was true or not. I know that it stems from your fear of having your legacy end like your mother's – tarnished and in disgrace – but you have never lost to any of your enemies no matter how scared of them you were or remain. You've only ever lost to yourself."

He bit his lip as he adjusted his glasses. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not trying to blame you for anything," She told him. "Because we can and should move forward. Everything, with Her gone, is better than it was a year ago. I just don't want you to obsess over things and make them worse. You know why."

"Because I become a brick wall that's impossible to talk to or reason with," Ronnie said, and she nodded. "I know, and I still struggle with that. I suppose I'm just worried that what Jacques said about me wanting power more than anything else is true."

"Ronnie," Brianna said, sending him a sharp look. "If that were true, you wouldn't have tried to make things better, you wouldn't have admitted to what you did and taken the blame when it came to light, and you wouldn't be concerned about it. Jacques is an asshole, and we've all known that for years."

He considered that for a moment. "I suppose," He said slowly. "That's probably true."

"I don't want things to end in fire," Brianna said, embracing him loosely for a moment. "We have the time and the chance to make things better, don't we?"

Ronnie smiled in spite of himself. "Maybe you're right."

"I know that there's still a lot for us to work through," She said, squeezing his hand. "But we've made progress, haven't we?"

"Of course we have," He replied. "You were right all along, you know, about me."

"Ronnie," She said softly. "It doesn't matter which one of us was right or wrong; it only matters how we move forward."

* * *

"You know what I want now that all this shit's over?" Yang said as she leaned back over the arm of the couch, causing her teammates, Winter, Qrow, and Raquelle to look at her in concern. "Alright, why are you all looking at me like that?"

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Why are you upside down?"

"Why are you right side up?" Yang countered. "FYI, I'm going to be difficult about this, so don't even play."

Blake sighed. "I'm not going to argue."

"You might not," Qrow said, taking a sip of his whisky and then setting his flask aside. "But I will. Yang, what the hell went wrong with you?"

"Qrow!" Winter exclaimed, sending him an exasperated look. "Not in front of Raquelle!"

"I'm cool with it," The young girl said, shrugging. "It's nice watching something happen around here for once. Things are so boring."

"Believe me, Raquelle," Winter said, crossing her arms as she began to pace. "You don't want to have an exciting life. It's not that great."

"Being a Ciel proves that!" Qrow added. "They've destroyed their entire lives."

"That's not fair," Weiss said, sending him a pointed look. "Don't you think you're being kind of a dick?"

"I think that's one of my greatest strengths," He replied with a smirk, then turning back to Yang. You never answered what the hell you're doing."

"And you all never pressed as to what I want now that everything's over," Yang shrugged awkwardly. "Come on, _someone_ please ask!"

"Alright," Ruby said, giggling as she looked to her cousin. "I'll play. What do you want?"

"I want my own TV show," Yang said, and they all stared at her in shock. "I'm completely serious about that."

"That's why we're concerned," Winter remarked. "You're a bit much, Yang."

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response," Yang flipped over the couch and stood up with a smirk. "Take a guess as to what I'd call it."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Out with a _Yang_?"

"That's good," She said. "But not quite."

"Death by Fire?" Weiss suggested. "Or Life on the Edge?"

Yang sighed. "No to the first one, and no to the second one."

Blake considered the question for a moment. "I'm not sure I want to guess…but I'll say…Hell is Real, Believe Me, I've seen it?"

"That's too long," Yang told her, looking to her uncle. "Qrow?"

"The Drinking Games We Play?" He suggested, and she burst out in laughter alongside Raquelle. "What?" He said. "That was serious!"

"That's why it's hilarious!" Yang breathed out. "Come on!"

"I'll assume that was wrong," Winter said, and Yang nodded. "But I'll assume that you would call your show Always Open."

Yang sighed. "That's really good, but it's not what I would call it."

"I have a guess!" Raquelle exclaimed with a smirk. "How about: Ways That I Have Broken the Law?"

Yang rolled her eyes. "I'm better than that, you know."

"So," Ruby said, looking to her a bit nervously. "What would you call your own show?"

Yang grinned as she tossed her hair back over her shoulder. "Check This Shit Out with Yang Xiao Long."

Qrow snorted. "That sounds about right."

Yang smirked. "I know!"

"Lovely," Weiss said, rolling her eyes. "Lovely, Yang."

Yang sarcastically blew her a kiss. "You know it, darling!"

* * *

"You're no fun," Edward Ironwood said, looking at his twin sister with a bored expression. "Honestly, you don't want to do _anything_."

"Shut up," Alyssa told him. "You want to go out in the city and make trouble with Ari and Ella Ciel."

"The four of us aren't going to do anything bad," Edward countered. "And it's not that bad."

"You know something?" Alyssa said, loudly popping the bubble of gum which she had formed. "The four of us are lucky we're rich."

"Why?" Edward asked. "Other than the obvious."

Alyssa smirked as she forced herself up and began to walk down the stairs with him behind her.

"Well," She said, tossing her hair back. "There is, of course, the obvious, but there's also the…silver lining that you seem to be missing."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "I'm confused."

"You're a dumbass," Alyssa said, then sighing. "I mean that us being rich is good because it means that, when Ari, Ella, you, and I need to be bailed out of jail because we did something stupid, there will be no problem."

Edward laughed. "What do you think I'm going to do?"

"Well, Ari, Ella and I are probably going to get thrown in the slammer for graffiti," Alyssa said with a casual shrug. "You'll probably get thrown in for urinating in a phone booth and then saying something stupid to a cop. Or just saying something stupid to a cop."

"Oh, come on!" Edward protested. "That's not fair!"

"Yeah, it is," Alyssa started to giggle at the thought. "You'd probably try hitting on a cop during arrest, and it would not be okay."

"A lot of things aren't okay," Edward countered. "You're being too broad."

"…Oh my god, James, are you serious?" Elizabeth exclaimed from in the other room, sounding happy yet also befuddled. "…You know I will; that barely even needs asking."

Alyssa and Edward all but ran into the room and stared upon seeing their father with an arm tightly around Elizabeth.

"What happened?" Alyssa asked, raising an eyebrow. "Dad?"

Elizabeth glanced to James nervously for a moment.

"Eliza and I are engaged," James finally said, and both of his children looked at him in surprise. "And we're hoping to get married in December."

Alyssa was silent for a moment but then smiled brightly. "That sounds like it'll be fun."

"If you two start wandering in graveyards and trying to summon demons, we're going to have to talk," James said, sending both of his children a pointed look. "Since that seems to be the only thing that either of you have any desire to do when you're near a church."

"That's true," Alyssa smirked. "What if we succeed?"

"If you succeed, we're all going to die," James said, mostly jokingly. "All things considered."

Alyssa considered that. "Well…" She said. "If it ended like that, at least we'd all know that I was right."

"That's a terrifying thought," Edward remarked. "You're the one who thinks we're going to end up in jail with Ari and Ella."

"That I believe," James said dryly. "I am not looking forward to bailing you two out of jail when and if it ever comes to that."

"None of us are," Elizabeth reminded him. "It's not as if you're the only one."

"I suppose," He said. "But it's still going to be –"

"Horrible?" She suggested. "Hopefully we're several years removed from that."

"Hopefully we're _permanently_ removed from that," James said, then pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "I love you."

She smiled. "I love you too."

"See?" Edward said, elbowing his sister. "There _are_ alternatives to a life of crime and causing ruckus."

She rolled her eyes. "Sometimes…" She said slowly. "I worry about you."

Edward grinned. "Sometimes I worry about me too."

* * *

"See?" Allison said as she handed Cristal a glass of wine. "We have one less thing to worry about."

"I'd argue more," Cristal said as she took a sip with a smirk. "But I still think that we can relax."

"And you're home more," Courtney added, curling into her mother. "Which has been nice, especially when we've worked with our powers."

"Well," Cristal said, briefly activating her powers as the Winter Maiden. "If you have them, why not flaunt them a bit?"

Ozpin laughed as he squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek. "I love you."

Cristal smiled. "I love you too, Oz."

"And we're not the most affectionate of our friends," Blake whispered to Allison, who fought back giggles. "I know we're sometimes the most _openly_ affectionate, but they definitely win."

"I don't know about that," Cristal said. "When we were younger, I always wondered how you managed to invent new kinds of stupid every day."

"Okay, that's just mean," Blake said, putting up his hands in surrender. "You did a lot of stupid things too."

"We all did," Allison reminded him. "Emmett, for one, wore a dress."

"He did look especially skimpy," Blake said, then shaking his head. "Although it was pretty funny."

"No, what was funny was when you proposed to Allison," Cristal said, starting to laugh. "God, you were so awkward."

"I remember that," Ozpin said, wrapping an arm loosely around his wife. "Didn't you threaten to spill wine on him if he didn't stop being a coward?"

"Sorry," Cristal said half-heartedly. "I didn't want you to break her heart."

"That's the last thing I would ever do," Blake said, a sharp edge entering his voice. "I am never going to leave her side."

Allison smiled. "Aww, Blake…"

"I'm serious," He swore. "I really am."

"I know," She replied. "That's part of why it's sweet."

"With everything the way is, we can afford to be happy," Cristal sighed, adjusting her glasses. "Although we might have been better off if we had tried harder to live rather than simply survive."

"Then let's do that now," Allison said. "Let's set the past aside and live like we're supposed to."

"I still don't always know who we're supposed to be," She said, taking a sip of her wine. "But, I suppose, that's something we can decide for ourselves now that we're finally being given the chance."

"I'm just glad that I'm a man again," Ozpin said quietly as he held his wife close. "I don't have to worry about losing you any more than you have to worry about losing me."

Cristal nodded. "I love you."

He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I love you too."

* * *

"Emmett," Edward said, sending his son-in-law a pointed look. "I am never going to understand you."

"Honestly, I don't think I'm ever going to understand myself," Emmett replied as he wrapped an arm tightly around Emmeline. "Emmy understands me better than I ever will."

"All things considered?" She laughed. "I would say that's about accurate."

"Alright," Caitlin said as she stepped into the alleyway behind their townhouse with Cas. "I've got 'em."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "You've got what?"

She smirked as she held up what she had in her hand. "Firecrackers."

"What are you going to do with –" Emmeline started, albeit pausing upon her tossing one into the trashcan a few feet away. "This is why spending time in an alleyway is a bad idea."

"That was impressive," Cas remarked, giggling upon her wife making a shot as she spun. "Damn."

"Here," She said, handing her some. "Go ahead, have fun."

"From a typically stiff psychologist, that's almost ironic," Edward remarked. "You and your mother are both extremely complicated, aren't you?"

"You're understating," Cas told him as she made her first shot. "Yeah!"

"Awesome!" Ella exclaimed as she and Ari all but ran into the alleyway. "That was so cool!"

"Can we try?" Ari looked to Emmeline half-pleadingly. "Come on, mommy, please?"

"No," Emmeline said with finality. "I don't want to know what the two of you could do with firecrackers."

"Hey!" Ella protested. "We're not that bad!"

"I never said that," Emmeline replied. "I was saying I don't trust the two of you with firecrackers. To be honest, I don't really trust Cas with them either."

Ella pouted. "Then why does she get to play with them?"

"Because Cas is in her twenties," Emmett shrugged. "When you're in your twenties, I'm not going to care what you do so long as you two don't need to make bail."

Ari laughed. "That's never going to happen."

Emmeline raised an eyebrow. "We certainly hope so."

"So," Edward said, taking a step back and adjusting his bowler hat upon Caitlin tossing two firecrackers into the can at once. "Good lord, are you trying to kill us?"

"Of course not!" She exclaimed. "I'm much safer than that!"

"Sometimes," Edward said slowly. "I doubt that."

"Why?" She asked as she pushed up her glasses. "I have and continue to work with toxic and/or corrosive chemicals in the lab and I'm still here."

"That's…" Edward shook his head. "Why does anyone try to argue with you?"

"Because they think they can win," She replied. "Which very few people have."

"I believe that," Emmett said, sharing a look with Emmeline. "You're persistent and aggressive when you want to be. Also, you're haughty and intimidating."

"That's who I am," She shrugged as she made another shot. "Okay, honestly, this is one of the most enjoyable things I've done in a long time."

"Agreed," Cas replied, grinning as she made a shot herself. "Maybe I'm better at this shit than you'd think."

"Caitlin being good at it makes more sense," Emmeline said, causing the rest of them to laugh. "She could have played football."

"I know," Cas said, smirking as she turned to her wife. "That's something we've all known for a long time."

Caitlin shrugged. "I could have if I weren't 5'3'' and a hundred and ten pounds."

"You are pretty tiny," Ari noted. "But I've seen videos. You used to play football; you loved the game."

"I never did it competitively," She reminded her. "It was just for fun."

"Well, that's something that we can have more of, now," Cas said, wrapping an arm tightly around her. "I think we might finally be able have as normal a life as is possible for people in our position."

"I agree," Emmett said, kissing Emmeline's cheek. "It's a relief, at any rate."

"We don't have to dream in the dark or make all of our plans in the shadows anymore," Caitlin smiled a bit in spite of herself. "And if worst comes to worst, then I can write the way out."


End file.
